Want to get more greens into your diet?
Don't know what to do the greens in your Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) box?
Tired of the same old meals?
This pesto pasta is the answer. Not only is this pesto delicious on pasta, it makes a fantastic sauce for chicken, fish, risotto, and crostini.
This pesto sauce if different from the ones I have had in American Italian restaurants. Those tend to be too garlicky and strong. This pesto is fresh and bright tasting. Best of all, it whips up quickly in a blender. I have included a recipe below, but you really don't need a recipe; just throw in what you have on hand and let taste be your guide until it's just as you like it.
Here's what it looks like in the blender:
I learned how to make pesto pasta from a chef named Yael, who is a mom at my children's school. She organized a cooking class to help other parents use all the vegetables that came in our CSA produce box. I tasted her pesto pasta, and thought it was fantastic. The next step was to see if my kids would like it.
I had no idea if my kids would eat pesto pasta, but I was hopeful since they love pasta. I decided to play it cool and acted normal as I served pesto pasta with a brave, smiling face. My younger child (who was four years old at the time) looked at it and declared that she wasn’t going to eat it. My older daughter tried it and said she liked it. With the older daughter on board, the four-year-old changed her mind and gave it a try. She liked it as well. I secretly had some mini pizzas in the toaster oven as a back up; luckily they weren’t needed, but I did serve them as well. I was happy and relieved when this dish became an instant hit with the whole family. Now it's a family favorite and a part of our regular dinner repertoire.
I especially love pesto made with pea tendrils, the leaves from the pea plant. The leaves and stems are tender with a subtle sweet pea flavor. There's no stem to remove, and no bitterness to counter balance. Nevertheless, any leafy green works well in pesto. I also like pesto made with spinach, fava bean tendrils, or broccoli rabe. If you don't know what to do with a leafy green, just throw it into this sauce.
All these leafy greens were new to me when I started receiving our school's CSA produce box. Having so many new vegetables in the house forced me to come up with new recipes, like this one. Most of the new dishes have been added to our regular dinner line up, and we are enjoying the increased variety.
Sometimes I play around by putting different toppings on the pasta. I like adding the crunch of pinenuts along with some parmesan cheese. Or a really pretty and tasty look is to top with halved cherry tomatoes and dots of ricotta cheese.
Recipe
Pesto Pasta
Equipment
- Large pot
- colander
Ingredients
- 1 pound pasta like dried spaghetti or fresh tubular pasta
- 6 ounces leafy greens like spinach, pea tendrils, or broccoli rabe (about 7 cups or 1 bunch of leafy greens)
- 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts or any nut such as walnuts
- 5 extra large fresh basil leaves
- 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ⅔ cup pasta water or broth
- a few grinds of freshly cracked pepper
- a large pinch of salt
- ¼ small onion or 1 small clove garlic optional
Optional mix-in's for the pasta
- cooked chicken cut into bite-sized pieces
- cooked vegetable like peas, green beans, or asparagus, cut into bite sized pieces
Optional toppings
- grated Parmesan cheese
- toasted pinenuts
- cherry tomato halves and dots of fresh ricotta
Instructions
- Boil leafy green in a large pot of salted water for 2-3 minutes until tender. Drain in a colander, squeeze out excess water, and set aside to cool a little.
- Once the leafy green and water are removed from the pot, use the same pot to cook the pasta. Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al dente (according to package instuctions. Reserve a little more than ½ c. pasta water. Drain and return pasta to the pot.
- Optional- sauté onion or garlic in a little olive oil until soft. Set aside.
- While the pasta is cooking, make the pesto sauce. Place the following ingredients in a blender: pine nuts, basil leaves, parmesan cheese, olive oil, cooked leafy green, ⅓ cup pasta water, salt, pepper, and optional cooked onion and garlic. Blend until smooth. Taste and adjust ingredients as needed. Thin with more pasta water to desired consistency. I usually use about ½ cup pasta water, but it depends on how many leafy greens you have.
- Put the pesto sauce and cooked pasta in the large pot on medium low. Add toss gently. Add optional add-ins if desired. Let the sauce warm and the pasta absorb some or the sauce.
- Put the pasta in one serving bowl or in individual bowls. Add optional toppings. Serve hot.
Sherrill says
Can I freeze the pea shoots? If so how?
Dana @ Foodie Goes Healthy says
I think the best point to freeze this recipe is after the pesto is made. I portion the pesto into ice cube trays and muffin tins. After the pesto freezes, I pop out the pieces and store them in one freezer bag or container. I have never frozen raw pea shoots so I'm not positive how they turn out. I suppose you could freeze them like spinach, and then they would come out wet and mushy like spinach does, which is not a problem for this recipe since the pea shoots are pureed. Just drain well after you defrost.
Kathy Gallagher says
Looks amazing! I want to make it with pea tendrils.... where do I buy them? Do they have at Trader Joes or only at the farmers market?
Dana says
I usually buy pea tendrils from McGrath Family Farms at the Wednesday Santa Monica Farmers Market or at the one in Beverly Hills on Sundays. Tendrils are probably not at most regular markets, but you could call Whole Foods to check. Trader Joes has a 6 ounce bag of organic baby spinach, and it works well in this recipe too.