Giada De Laurentiis' New Pesto Recipe Swaps Pasta for Avocado

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Is there anything more summery than a vibrant pesto? There’s something about that bright Italian sauce that just makes the flavors of our favorite ingredients sing, and if there’s one chef who we can always rely on for a solid pesto recipe, it’s Giada De Laurentiis. In the past, we’ve fallen head over heels for the Giada’s Italy author’s creamy white pesto recipe and her citrusy pesto pasta. But her latest pesto recipe ditches the pasta, and swaps it for an avocado and arugula salad.

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It’s easy to feel like you’re stuck in a rut when making salads at home, and the biggest culprit is probably the store-bought bottle of dressing you have in your fridge. Making your own salad dressing isn’t actually very hard or time consuming, and there are so many different flavors to explore when you’re making it at home. Case in point? De Laurentiis’ arugula pesto and avocado salad.

Courtesy of Clarkson Potter.
Clarkson Potter.

De Laurentiis says that this summery salad recipe is inspired by a dish she had at Florence restaurant 4Leoni. According to the star, “there’s something really perfect about the combination of the pesto, buttery avocado, rich cheese and the peppery arugula.” She makes the pesto dressing with arugula rather than basil, which gives it a grassy, peppery flavor. Pine nuts, Parmesan, and olive oil are standard, but De Laurentiis makes her own way, adding lemon juice and zest to the pesto dressing “to give it a more vibrant quality.”

Whole Foods.

The salad itself is a simple blend of arugula, creamy cubes of avocado, savory cubes of Emmental or gruyere cheese, and toasted pine nuts. Topped with the pesto dressing, it’s a robustly flavorful side dish, or it can be topped with grilled meat, poached eggs, or roasted veggies to make it a full meal. Just add a glass of prosecco, and you’ll feel like you’re on vacation in Florence too.

In search of more summer recipes? Giada De Laurentiis has plenty:

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