Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Tuesday

Whole wheat pasta with green pea pesto (recipe in the comments)
Sauteed grape tomatoes

Hot tea
English toffee
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So, we're trying another new recipe from Whole Foods tonight - hopefully with more success than yesterdays (which was MUCH better today - a lot more ginger flavor after sitting all night - hmmmmm). This is the continuation of a theme we hadn't realized we were beginning until we made the list this week - three weeks of pestos. Last week we did spinach and arugula pesto, this week a new green pea pesto, and next week the last of the frozen pesto from last summer! We're pretty stoked. Tonight's has no cheese and the recipe has you make it with whole wheat pasta. We both loved this as the original recipe came out, but wre made a few changes to make it even better, including adding some Parmesan and adding the walnuts to the pesto to make it smoother. This is a totally different pesto - the mint really makes it unique. This is definitely a new member of the repertoire.

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Nothing!
Time: 25 minutes
Make ahead: I often do pestos ahead and then toss with hot pasta.

Reaction
J: "It's a whole new pesto!!!!!"
M: "It'sa totally new take on pesto!" (These reactions were determined COMPLETELY independently :)

1 comment:

J said...

Pasta with Green Pea Pesto – J & M (inspired by Whole Foods Market)
Serves 6

1 pound whole wheat chunky pasta
½ cup walnuts
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
1 ¼ cup packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
¼ cup packed mint leaves
1 tablespoon capers (plus more to taste?)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
⅓ cup grated Parmesan
⅓ cup olive oil
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until it is al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta-cooking water. Drain the pasta.

Meanwhile, mince the walnuts in a food processor. Add the peas, parsley, mint, capers, lemon juice, and Parmesan. Pulse to combine, scraping the sides. Add the oil in a steady stream while the processor is running. Add salt and pepper, taste and adjust seasoning. Add the reserved pasta water and process until smooth. Toss the hot pasta with the pesto.