The pesto coats the warm pasta to make a creamy, rich sauce, which is accented by the crumbled feta and contrasted by the sweet cherry tomatoes.

Ingredients

1 pound bow tie pasta
1 recipe pesto (following)
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
¾ cup crumbled feta cheese or more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

To make the pasta: Heat a large pot of salted water to a boil. Stir in the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain, Shake the pasta around to get rid of as much water as you can.

Dump the pasta into a large serving bowl. Stir in the pesto until the pasta is coated. Toss in the cherry tomatoes and crumbled feta. Taste the salad and season it as you like with salt and pepper. You can make the salad up to about an hour before you serve it. Check out the salt and pepper just before you serve the salad. If it’s looking a little dry, add some olive oil and stir it around.

Spinach Pesto

Ingredients
2 big cups fresh spinach leaves, well-washed and stemmed
1/2 cup fresh parsley, preferably Italian flat leaf
1/2 cup walnuts or 1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated,
3 garlic cloves
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Directions
Place all ingredients into food processor and process to a fine paste.
Taste and adjust seasonings and transfer to a glass container and top with a thin coat of olive oil to prevent the top of the pesto from discolouring.
Keeps for weeks in the refrigerator.