I made 1/2 batch of this and wish I would have seen Marianne's review prior because using a stick blender would have made this easier. My regular blender didn't work well for 1/2 recipe. I also screwed up by adding the full amount of pasta water instead of cutting it in 1/2. Still I think it would be wise to double the pesto for the amount of pasta this calls for. The pesto was good but once combined with the pasta it seemed lost. I liked the cashews and cranberry combination a little sweet and salty - a favorite of mine. I may try again with these changes and try with zoodles (zucchini noodles) for fun and lower carbs although Barilla is my favorite go-to pasta.
I made 1/2 batch of this and wish I would have seen Marianne's review prior because using a stick blender would have made this easier. My regular blender didn't work well for 1/2 recipe. I also screwed up by adding the full amount of pasta water instead of cutting it in 1/2. Still I think it would be wise to double the pesto for the amount of pasta this calls for. The pesto was good but once combined with the pasta it seemed lost. I liked the cashews and cranberry combination a little sweet and salty - a favorite of mine. I may try again with these changes and try with zoodles (zucchini noodles) for fun and lower carbs although Barilla is my favorite go-to pasta.
The star of this dish is certainly the pesto but it did not carry this dish enough for us. It is very easy to fix (I used my Smart Stick to mix up the pesto because I made a small batch). I was able to share the box of gluten-free pasta with someone who needs to use it; I can be very happy to go back to regular pasta--and I almost always buy Barilla because it's the best in the grocery store (in my opinion).
We LOVED the pesto I wish I'd made more. This was very good and I added grilled chicken to complete the meal. If you love green onions and cashews make the pesto soon--you won't be sorry! The gluten free rotini was a nice change and would be perfect to serve to friends who can't tolerate gluten.
This is an easy to make side pasta salad for a light summer dinner. (But don t forget to warn people that there are cashews in case they are allergic!) I was happy to learn that Barilla now has gluten free pasta because I have hosted friends who have gluten intolerance in the past and it is difficult to find recipes that don t include gluten.
I loved JRbaker's suggestion of adding the grilled chicken and I'll do that next time we make the recipe. I'm also going to try the pesto on other dishes.
Don't let the recipe title scare you away! This is an easy recipe to prepare and very flavorful. I loved the addition of the cranberries. While I did served this warm according to the recipe I think it would be great cold too.
This is a very easy to prepare recipe. I loved the green onion- cashew pesto it was perfect. Chicken would be a good addition to the dish.
