Pea

Pretty Green Pesto

July  5, 2010
4
1 Ratings
  • Serves 4-8
Author Notes

How original. A basil competition and I'm submitting a pesto recipe. This is not your typical pesto. I call it Pretty Green Pesto for two reasons. First, the color is stunning. It’s not the typical grainy looking pesto; it’s smooth and beautiful. Secondly, Pretty Green is one of my favorite songs. This pesto is perfect for summer. —The Charcuterie Expert

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Ingredients
  • 2 cups Frozen Peas
  • 1/3 cup Pine Nuts
  • 1 cup Olive Oil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon Fresh Ground Black Pepper
  • 1 bunch or 1 Cup Fresh Basil
  • 10 pieces Fresh Mint
  • 1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
Directions
  1. Boil a pot of water and the frozen peas and cook for 3 minutes or until the peas are warmed through. Strain them and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. In a pan, add the pine nuts and cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. You just want to toast them until they turn a light brown. Keep stirring. Once most of them have some color, pour them into a bowl. Don’t leave them in the pan; they will keep cooking and burn. Add the oil first to a blender and add all the other ingredients and blend until smooth. Make your spaghetti as directed, strain and add about 3/4 a cup of pesto. Do not cook the sauce.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

4 Reviews

sftartlette August 7, 2011
Delicious! I also used walnuts instead of pine nuts and a bit of kale instead of mint, but it still turned out tasty. Love the color and flavor from the peas!
elizabethcl July 20, 2011
I made this tonight and loved the extra texture and color added by the peas. I had to sub walnuts in for the pine nuts, but it still came out great. Thank you!
Happyolks July 26, 2010
You're right, this pesto DOES sound more special than the norm. I'll totally give it a try :) :)
Amanda H. July 9, 2010
Cool photo!