Pea Pesto Pasta
The sauce for this simple pea pesto pasta is made with frozen peas, arugula, lemon, garlic, scallions, Parmesan and olive oil. Stir it into fusilli or penne, shapes that will really hold on to the pesto.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed
- 1 1/2 cups baby arugula
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1 lemon, juice
- 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan and more for serving
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 8 ounces fusilli, rotini or penne
Instructions
- Put the peas, 1 cup arugula, garlic, scallions, lemon juice, 1/4 cup Parmesan, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor. Finely chop everything. Then with the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil through the feeder tube to puree the pesto until it is fully combined.
- Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente according to package instructions. Reverse a half-cup of pasta water before draining. Transfer the pasta to a large bowl.
- Stir in the pesto add a small amount of the reserved pasta water as needed to thin the pesto and coat the noodles (Start with 1 tablespoon. You may not need any of it.)
- Stir in the remaining arugula and Parmesan.
Notes
The recipe makes about 1-1/3 cups pesto.
You can leave out the cheese if you need the pesto to be vegan.
Baby spinach is a good substitute for the arugula.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days. The pasta will soften the longer you keep it.
You can freeze the pesto up to 1 month. Thaw at room temperature. Then warm it in a skillet over low heat, stirring frequently or in the microwave.
Nutrition
Calories: 454kcal | Carbohydrates: 55g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Sodium: 410mg | Potassium: 362mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 715IU | Vitamin C: 39mg | Calcium: 108mg | Iron: 2mg