Pea Pesto Pasta
A bag of frozen peas might seem but with a few basic ingredients you can have a delicious and different pasta dish on the table in no time.
Ingredients
- 1 lb spaghetti
- salt for pasta water
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 lb peas frozen or fresh
- 1 lemon zested
- 1/2 cup parsley finely chopped
- 1/2 cup Romano cheese finely grated
- salt pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup toasted almonds chopped (optional)
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs (optional)
Variations
- dill instead of parsley and feta instead of Romano
- ricotta cheese instead of Romano
- cilantro instead of parsley and lime zest instead of lemon
- olive oil instead of butter
Instructions
- Put a pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil in heavily salted water. Cook spaghetti according to the package instructions.
- Melt butter in a pan on medium heat. Add the garlic and toss until you can smell it. About 2 minutes. Add the frozen peas, and 1/2 cup of water to the pan. Let the peas cook until the water has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
- Add the lemon zest, parsley and Romano cheese and use a spatula or other flat kitchen implement to squish the peas roughly. Taste it and add a bit of salt and freshly ground pepper according to your taste. They don't have to be smooth, but you do want the peas to be squished enough to form a sort of loose pesto that will coat your pasta nicely.
- Once the spaghetti is cooked add it to the pan with the pesto and toss. Add water a few tablespoons at a time to help loosen the sauce so everything is coated.
- Serve hot with extra parsley and grated Romano. Squeeze a little lemon juice on it if you feel like it.
- Serve as is or for a little crunch add some crushed almonds or toasted breadcrumbs.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!