I added olive oil last time to thin out the pesto

Yes, more olive oil. Jarred pesto is like paste, too thick.

I doubt she's considering adding endless olive oil. A little will do the trick.

I've used water to thin it, but I've only done that with hot pasta. If the pesto is cold, olive oil will have less effect to thin it, as it congeals when it is cold, and you will only need a very small amount of water.

Well, Cindy, at 120 calories per tablespoon, many of us just don't need that. I am speaking personally but I know many of us are concerned too.

Islay, then use endless water if you so desire. I don’t know if Jeri’s making pasta salad for one or a number of servings, but the addition of a little olive oil would hardly be a diet buster. We are talking pasta salad. ;)

So you're obviously not open to trying new things :)

Since it's for salad dressing, another choice would be a mild vinegar, like red wine, to cut the fat a little and add a bit of acid complexity.

So you're obviously not open to trying new things

Were you speaking to me? I'm not the one making pasta salad. To be honest, it's something I rarely make because my husband doesn't care for cold pasta. Once or twice a year I'll make a Thai noodle salad for myself.

jeri-, Sounds delish with tomatoes, olives and spinach. If it is the costco pesto in the squarish container that needs to be fridged?, i know that one. I like it. A life-saver in the dead of winter when i want something quick and fresh tasting. Nice and nutty, good garlic flavor. Hard for us to use up once opened so i freeze it in small containers. A tbsp in a salad dressing is good!. Also nice in a bean salad.

When i drain my pasta i save a bit of the pasta water...just a 1/4 cup-ish in a pyrex. When your pasta is drained it will continue to steam being so hot. The first thing tossed into it will slightly cook and be absorbed. (why i don't add the pesto first....the basil will not taste as fresh). A small amount of marinade like a fruity vinegar with some of your olive brine, just a tbsp of each. A bit of good olive oil and again just a tbsp or less. (if it is the same pesto i know, it is made with mostly sunflower oil...just a tiny bit of olive oil further down the ingredient list). It is oily enough for me so i don't usually add any extra oil...and not about calories at all. More about an oily tasting pasta salad.

If the spinach in your deli salad is firm, add it with the pesto later on when the pasta has cooled a bit. I add a bit of that saved pasta water to my pesto but judge that before adding. I'm always using different brands of pasta and i can never tell what the 'steaming' factor might be. If you want the spinach to be slightly wilted, toss it in when the pasta is hot adding with your marinade 'brine'.

DH likes a certain pasta that i've been having trouble with. It is a spinach green leaf shape and a bit thick, and very starchy. It seems to like some extra olive oil to 'seal' it. Meaning to coat it and hold that starch. Otherwise it releases starch into the rest of the 'salad'.

Tricky to try and reproduce a favorite, and often expensive, deli version. Fun though if you pull it off.

I'm trying to crack the code of a great deli spinach egg salad. I think the spinach is Matador and just started a tray of seed starts for a fall crop...it is very thick and meaty, not thin and wilty. A bit nuts but i'm determined, : )

I did buy some over the winter and it has really good fridge shelf life. Also quickly blanched it froze well. Without the acrid iron taste that some leafy spinach has...

Well....I would bet the pasta salad from the deli has been "thinned" with olive oil....but as someone once said about chocolate..."It's not necessary to eat the who chocolate bar to get the good taste of chocolate in your mouth." I often thin a pesto with a bit of chicken broth....because by the time I get around to mixing the pesto and pasta I have tossed the pasta water.