Linguine with Pea Pesto

As a kid, peas were one of my least favorite vegetables.  

It was always a battle in our house as I loved broccoli and hated peas 

while my sister hated broccoli and loved peas.  

So one of us was usually bound to be upset.  

I remember pushing those little green balls around on my plate, 

trying to hide them under my rice, 

and sitting at the table all alone, long after everyone else had been excused, 

because I wouldn't eat my peas.

There's even a story of how I'd chew them up 

and store them in my cheeks but wouldn't swallow them.  

I'd be sitting at the table with cheeks full of peas 

with my mom saying "Rachel, swallow your peas."

So she's probably gonna be pretty surprised that I'm posting a recipe featuring peas

and that I really liked it!

If only she'd known 20 years ago that this is the way to get me to swallow my peas.

If you frequent the popular food blogs you've probably seen this recipe already,

as it was posted on Smitten Kitchen back in June.

It was super easy and quick to make - 

definitely do-able for a weeknight dinner

but also pretty enough to serve your friends.

Linguine with Pea Pesto 

(from Smitten Kitchen)

1 1/2 cups fresh peas, or a 10 oz bag of frozen peas defrosted

1 clove garlic, minced

2 Tablespoons pine nuts, toasted

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup olive oil

12 oz dried linguine

To keep the peas from overcooking, and keeping them a nice bright green color, prepare an ice bath in a large bowl.   Boil some water in a small saucepan and a pinch of salt.  Add peas and cook for 2 minutes, then scoop them out and dunk them in the ice bath to stop the cooking process.

Set aside a 1/2 cup of cooked peas.  Add the rest to your food processor along with the garlic, pine nuts, 1/3 cup Parmesan, and salt.  Process them a couple minutes until they're smooth.  Slowly pour in the olive oil with the blade running.

Cook the pasta al dente in a large pot of salted boiling water.  Reserve about 2 cups of pasta water.  Drain the pasta and return to the pot.  Over medium heat, add the pesto and remaining peas to the pasta and stir to combine.   Add as much of the pasta water as you need to make the pesto smooth and evenly distributed over the pasta.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with extra Parmesan.

Enjoy!