Chopping Board Tomato Pesto Pasta Salad

INGREDIENTS

• 400g Dunnes Stores Penne Pasta
• 300g Dunnes Stores Mixed Tomatoes; a mixture of one large vine and multicoloured cherry
• 100g Dunnes Stores fresh basil
• 1 clove garlic
• 50g Dunnes Stores Baking at Home Pine Nuts
• 35g capers, chopped
• 8 slices prosciutto
• 100g parmesan, plus extra to serve
• 100–150ml extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

To Serve:

• Dunnes Stores Organic Sourdough Garlic Baguette

METHOD

1. Firstly, toast the pine nuts in a separate pan until golden. Remove from the pan and set aside.
2. Next, fry the prosciutto until crispy, then set aside.
3. Fill a pot a quarter full with water and place over a high heat with a lid. Boil the kettle, pour into the pot, season with salt and add the pasta.
4. While the pasta cooks, finely chop the cherry tomatoes and grate any larger tomatoes using a box grater, collecting the pulp and juices in a bowl. Season with salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil, then stir and set aside.
5. For the pesto, mash the garlic on a chopping board with sea salt and set aside. Chop the basil and mix with the garlic. Add the pine nuts and continue to chop, then add the parmesan and some seasoning. Once finely chopped, drizzle in about 50ml olive oil, chopping to combine. Add half of the pesto to the tomatoes and stir through the capers.
6. Drain the pasta and add to the bowl with the tomatoes. Toss everything together, adding more parmesan and seasoning as needed. Fold through gently, top with broken shards of crispy prosciutto and add a little more olive oil if required.
7. Serve in bowls with the remaining pesto, extra parmesan and a final drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.