Having recently moved, I’m overjoyed to have more space in my new kitchen – this means more room to work, and more room for my gadgets and appliances! For instance, I was finally able to take my food processor out of the box to give it a whirl. I received it as a present over a year ago, but I haven’t had the space to use it without getting frustrated.
Since I love pesto and have been eager to make one from scratch, that seemed like the perfect maiden voyage for my new toy. I found a recipe for Penne with Pea Pesto on Gourmet’s website, and since I love the combination of peas and pasta, this sounded perfect. If you’re familiar with pestos, then you know that the typical pesto combines basil, pine nuts, parmesan, garlic and olive oil. This recipe uses most of the traditional ingredients, but substitutes peas for the basil.
Aside from the learning curve with my new food processor, I found this recipe easy to follow and tasty. I can’t vouch for how long it took me since most of my time was spent with the users’ manual, but I suspect that the 30 minutes estimated on the recipe (including prep time and cooking time) is fairly accurate. The recipe produced a lot of pesto, so I think in the future I will probably divide it up into batches and use only some of the pesto with pasta (perhaps with a 1/2 or 3/4 lb of pasta instead of the recommended 1 lb) because I think that this pesto would also be a delicious addition to grilled cheese, other sandwiches, or grilled meat. It had a lovely texture and flavor. My only complaint was that when eating the first batch (when it was fresh), I found the uncooked garlic to be a bit too strong. However, after reheating the pesto for leftovers, the garlic flavor was no longer overpowering. This is a great go-to recipe for busy nights, and it’s healthy to boot.
Pesto is deceptively easy to make (assuming you have a trusty food processor that you know how to use!). Once you know the basics, it’s easy to make new combinations – and there are plenty of pesto variations online that use artichokes or greens such as spinach or arugula, and many use other nuts such as walnuts, or even pistachios. So many choices…tell me what kind I should try next!
