Food Changes—Pea and Parsley Pesto

*Image and Recipe via Martha Stewart

Last week I tried out a new recipe and discovered a new family favorite: Pea and Parsley Pesto. The Italian parsley in my garden is loving all the rain so I was able to use my own homegrown parsley in the pesto sauce. I always think food tastes better out of your own garden and you can’t get any fresher than walking to your garden, picking something yummy, and bringing it back inside to wash, chop, cook and eat.

The pesto sauce on the pasta was great…even my pickiest eater liked it. I served it with chopped tomatoes and garlic artisan bread. The pesto was even better the next day when I spread it on the leftover bread, topped it with the chopped tomatoes, and broiled it for a few minutes. So good! We all liked it so much that we ate it again the next day. You have got to love any recipe that gets you through 3 meals.

I think this would be amazing with fresh garden peas, as well. Alas, I never plant my garden early enough to get fresh peas. If you have fresh peas, definitely try it with those, and then give me a call and I will come and buy some from you…or trade you some parsley for your peas. I think this recipe is going to become a staple in our home.

Pea and Parsley Pesto with Linguine

• Prep Time 15 minutes
• Total Time 25 minutes
• Yield Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 cups frozen peas (from a 10-ounce bag)
• 1 cup packed fresh parsley leaves
• 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted
• 2/3 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 12 ounces linguine

Directions

1. Cook 1 cup peas according to package instructions. In a food processor, combine cooked peas, parsley, walnuts, Parmesan, garlic, and 1 tablespoon water. Pulse until a paste forms. With machine running, slowly add oil, processing until blended; season with salt and pepper.

2. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions, adding 1 cup peas 30 seconds before end of cooking. Reserve 1 cup pasta water; drain pasta and peas. Return pasta and peas to pot; toss with 3/4 cup pesto (reserve remainder for another use), adding enough pasta water to create a sauce that coats pasta. Serve pasta with more Parmesan.

Cook's Note

For pasta anytime, freeze extra pesto in ice-cube trays, up to 3 months; thaw before using.