Minty Pea Pesto Pasta

April 19, 2021 Laura

I wish I had an amazing story to tell you today but I don’t. I live in Toronto, Canada and we’re in our third wave of the pandemic and our millionth lockdown, so, in terms of having anecdotal tales to share, I’m fresh out. The only thing my day revolves around is food. What do I eat with my morning coffee? What’s for breakfast with my late morning coffee? What’s for lunch? Who wants a snack? What’s for dinner? Who wants to make dinner? Any one other than me, please god?!

Back in the day, when it was the real world, we hardly ever ate pasta. I served Scarlett a lot of homemade Mac and Cheeses at lunch so dinner was usually something else. In the new world of lockdowns where everyone’s entire food consumption for the day happens in our house, I make pasta. It’s fast. It also gives comfort which we need in spades right now. Scarlett is a big pea fan and usually wants me to mix them in every dish I make for her, so it was only a matter of time before she made me make a pesto with them–Turns out I love it just as much as any old pesto. Between the mint, lemon and parmesan you have a fresh, creamy and delicious sauce to slide and slither through all your durum tubes (or whatever kind of pasta you enjoy). This recipe takes all the fuss and guess work out of dinner and, if you’re like me and only thinking about food, this makes space in your head for something else. What? I’m not sure. I’m in lockdown so food is all I got. I guess I could think about another walk. Stay safe, friends.

Minty Pea Pesto Pasta

This recipe uses shelled English Peas and mint to make a fresh and addictively yummy pesto that glides over your favorite pasta.

Print Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Total Time 25

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Ingredients

280 grams fresh shelled English Peas
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsps pine nuts
2 tbsps fresh parmesan cheese
16 medium to large mint leaves
2 tbsps lemon juice
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
400 grams tube pasta like rigatoni or penne

Instructions

In a pot of boiling water, cook the peas for 2-3 mintues. Drain and zap them iwth cold water. Pat dry and set aside.
In a food processor, add the peas, garlic, pine nuts, parmesan, mint and lemon juice and pulse to give everything a rough chop. Drizzle in olive oil while pulsing until pesto is near smooth but still with some texture. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Cook the pasta according to package directions for al dente and reserve about 1/4 pasta water before draining.
Toss the pasta with the pesto adding a bit of the reserved pasta water until sauce is desired consistency. Serve with additional parmesan cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.

Keyword easy pasta, pasta dinner, pesto recipes, peas, pesto, easy recipes

Tags easy recipes minty pea pesto pasta pasta dishes Pasta pesto peas mint

Category Spring Vegetables Pasta Herbs