Having a bag of frozen peas stashed away in your freezer is a little insurance policy. Toss them in fried rice or add them to a creamy lemon pasta and you're in business, dinner-wise. My favorite application of frozen peas, however is this pea pesto. It can be fancied up with good Parmesan cheese and used as a pasta sauce, we serve it as a dip with crackers or fresh vegetables, it makes a terrific spread on toast for spring tartines, use a big scoop of it as a base for a vinaigrette, or do as I did last week and call it pizza sauce.
Generally I make it with parsley, garlic, walnuts, and lemon, but you can definitely riff on this recipe to get all sorts of flavors. Add in basil and pine nuts and get a more traditional pesto flavor. Spice it up with red pepper flakes. Stir it into a bechamel for a creamy version of pea pasta.
Enjoy the recipe and let me know what you do with it in the comments!
Recipe
Pea Pesto
Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ cup parsley (packed, stems and leaves)
- ½ medium lemon (juiced)
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 2 cups peas (frozen or fresh)
- 1 cup spinach leaves (packed)
- ½ cup walnuts (or use pine nuts or pistachios)
- 1 teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper (ground)
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese (grated, omit for vegan)
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to the bowl of a food processor. Process until combined and taste for salt and pepper. Adjust if needed.
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Nutrition Facts
Kevin says
Love it!! I’ve been thinking of new ways to make pesto since basil goes off in about a day in our fridge. I tried one with arugula the other day. Was good, but will definitely try this. Do you think cashews can be used ?
cassieelane says
I'm sure they can. I bet they'll make a creamier version if you do a soak in water before adding them to the mix.
Linda Buckland says
Very good and versatile. Used basil and parsley, and walnuts. And less oil. Lovely pasta sauce when thinned down with extra cheese on the side. And made scrummy sandwiches for lunch the next day. Good to find a new meatless sandwich filling.
cassieelane says
So glad to hear you made it your own way! Thanks for trying it.