Peas are green….basil is green…why not swap basil out for peas and see what happens? Oh hi pea pesto, you are just as amazing as basil pesto! Who knew?? This was a case of recipe testing gone right. Pea pesto is everything we hoped it would be and then some…
Truthfully this pea pesto was born because it’s impossible to keep fresh herbs alive during the summer in AZ. They turn into dead fried leaves, which would definitely not be good in pesto. Since there was no fresh basil to be found in the house, the substitution hunting began and we came across a bag of trustee frozen peas. These little recipe substitution tests can either go terribly wrong or in this case the stars aligned and all was good in the world. No seriously, we poured it over pasta with a bit of the reserved pasta water, added some sautéed cherry tomatoes and made ourselves one damn good and healthy gluten free pasta dish. Easy peasy…
We happened to have some pea pesto left over which turned into our appetizer for the next day, pea pesto dip served with some fresh veggies. This version definitely has a thicker consistency than traditional basil pesto so it makes a good dip. If using it for pasta just make sure to reserve some of that pasta water like we did to thin the pesto out a bit.
- 1 C frozen peas - dethawed to room temperature
- ½ C grated pecorino cheese
- ¼ C toasted pine nuts
- 1 clove garlic
- ¼ C good quality olive oil
- kosher salt to taste
- Add all ingredients to a food processor except for olive oil and salt. Pulse until mixed. While the food processor is running slowly drizzle in the olive oil until incorporated. Add kosher salt to taste.