Quick ideas
Pea pesto pasta
When mushy peas meet pesto… this tasty green pasta dish makes the most of summer peas and can also be made with frozen peas outside of the season. Peas are mixed into a chunky pesto with basil, garlic, pine nuts, parmesan and olive oil. Toss through pasta and you've got a really tasty, gloriously green dinner.
Cook's notes
We used a pestle and mortar to make our pesto, which results in a nice chunky texture. If you don't have one, you can use a fork to mash it all together, but it will be very chunky, or opt for the other end of the spectrum and blitz it in a food processor and you'll have a much smoother pesto. This can easily be made vegan by omitting the cheese. If you don't have basil, try swapping it for mint, which pairs very well with peas.
Ingredients
- 200g pasta
- 200g podded garden peas
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled & chopped
- 2 tbsp pine nuts
- 10-12 basil leaves
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 40g Parmesan, or vegetarian hard cheese
Method
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Step 1
Place the peas in a saucepan, cover with boiling water and cook for a couple of minutes. Get your pasta on too, cooking according to packet instructions. While it cooks, start making your pesto.
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Step 2
Drain the peas and transfer them to a pestle and mortar (or bowl/food processor if using instead, see cook’s notes). Add the garlic, pine nuts, basil, olive oil and parmesan. Add a little salt and grind into a chunky pesto.
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Step 3
When the pasta is cooked, drain it, leaving a little of the pasta water in the pan - just 2-3 tablespoons or so. Return to the hob, set to a very low heat, and add the pesto and mix well. Taste and adjust salt to your liking.
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Step 4
Serve the pasta with a generous grind of black pepper, and dig in.