Spaghetti with Fresh Pea Pesto

19 May ~ Page 146

This spaghetti with pea pesto was delish! The ingredients were harder to find than I expected. It required fresh shelled peas and broad beans, neither of which I could find. I thought maybe it was because they're out of season, but peas don't REALLY go out of season, and even if they did, the current season is still the tail end of when they're at their best. So I've put it down to the supermarkets. Neither of my local chains stocked fresh peas, or broad beans. I suspect I could find them at a market, where the range is better, but I didn't have time for that. So my recipe uses the frozen version of both of these items, and I can attest that it still tastes good!

The prep/cook times are pretty accurate. Having used broad beans before I knew how long they take to shell, which I don't think they really account for in the timing structure of the recipe. So I only let them cool for a minute before beginning to peel them and was still doing this until the last minute.

I work with an electric stove top, so I also put both saucepans of water on first thing because they take ages to heat up.

The only tip I can say, which is really a preference thing, is that I should have processed the pesto for longer. Mine had a bit too much crunch from the almonds, but some people might like it extra crunchy. The pesto was VERY yummy. It was a bit too garlicky when I tasted it, but once it was in the pasta it was totally fine. It was a bit hard to stir through the pasta too. Could put a dash more olive oil.

It was slightly bland (and for me to say that, it means it was), and could be improved with some chicken or something. Perhaps as a side, or on a table with lots of dishes, it would be extra great. It's meant to serve 4, but I put it into a large bowl for people to serve themselves and there was easily enough for 6 people.

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4 stars

Big bowl of pasta

19 May
Spaghetti with Fresh Pea Pesto

Serves 4-6
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: About 15 mins

Ingredients:
250g/9oz shelled broad beans
500g/1lb 2 oz dried spaghetti
salt and pepper

300g/10.5oz fresh shelled peas
75ml/2.5fl oz extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
100g/3.5 oz freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra, shaved, to serve.
100g/3.5 oz blanched almonds, chopped
pinch of sugar

1.  To make the pea pesto, cook the peas in a saucepan of boiling water for 2-3 minutes until just tender. Drain and transfer to a food processor. Add the oil, garlic and grated Parmesan cheese and process to a course paste. Add the almonds and process again. Add the sugar and season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. Blanch the broad beans in a saucepan of lightly salted boiling water until just tender. Drain and leave to cool. Peel off the dull skins.
3. Bring a large, heavy-based saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the spaghetti, bring back to the boil and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until just tender but still firm to the bite. Drain, stir in the broad beans and toss with the pesto. Add a good coarse grinding of pepper and serve with Parmesan cheese shavings.