Barefoot Bloggers: Pasta, Pesto, and Peas

For our second Barefoot Bloggers recipe, Elizabeth of Ugg Smell Food, chose Pasta, Pesto, and Peas. I've always loved pesto but have ever taken the time to make in from scratch. Now that I know how easy it is, no more of that store bought stuff again!

I pretty much stuck to the recipe on this one. The only change was that I did half spinach and half basil for the pesto. While I do have a basil plant, it is small and didn't have five cups of leaves. I halved the recipe as well since I am the only one eating in my apartment. Well...there is Charlie but he's a dog and I don't feed him everything (though he wishes I would!).

I wasn't sure how I was going to like this dish. I love pasta, peas, and pesto but I'm not much for a cold pasta salad. I always like my pasta hot or at least warm. But this group is about trying new things so I was game to at least try it once. Let me tell you...I was very pleasantly surprised! It was creamy and very tasty! I seemed to have a lot of pesto even though I halved the recipe so my pasta looked like a green pasta unlike the nicely light coated pasta in the picture. Oh well! It was still very tasty! Some of the other participants said they used a lot less of the mayo to cut calories but I went ahead and used the stated amount since I had light mayo. Next time I may do less but I really liked the amount I had. It gave the pesto a creamy, smooth taste that I loved.

Because I still had a huge batch leftover, I froze half for later and took the rest to lunch for the week. It seemed to be even better later! Yum! This will definitely be on my make again lunch list! Thanks Ina!

Pasta, Pesto, and Peas

From Barefoot Contessa Parties! page 98

3/4 pound fusilli pasta
3/4 pound bow tie pasta
1/4 cup good olive oil
1 1/2 cups pesto, packaged or see recipe below
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/4 cups good mayonnaise
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 1/2 cups frozen peas, defrosted
1/3 cup pignolis (pine nuts)
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cook the fusilli and bow ties separately in a large pot of boiling salted water for 10 to 12 minutes until each pasta is al dente. Drain and toss into a bowl with the olive oil. Cool to room temperature.

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, puree the pesto, spinach, and lemon juice. Add the mayonnaise and puree. Add the pesto mixture to the cooled pasta and then add the Parmesan, peas, pignolis, salt, and pepper. Mix well, season to taste, and serve at room temperature.

Pesto:
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup pignolis (pine nuts)
3 tablespoons chopped garlic (9 cloves)
5 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups good olive oil
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Place the walnuts, pignolis, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process for 15 seconds. Add the basil leaves, salt, and pepper. With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube and process until the pesto is thoroughly pureed. Add the Parmesan and puree for a minute. Use right away or store the pesto in the refrigerator or freezer with a thin film of olive oil on top.

Notes: Air is the enemy of pesto. For freezing, pack it in containers with a film of oil or plastic wrap directly on top with the air pressed out.

To clean basil, remove the leaves, swirl them in a bowl of water, and then spin them very dry in a salad spinner. Store them in a closed plastic bag with a slightly damp paper towel. As long as the leaves are dry they will stay green for several days.

Yield: 4 cups

Source: Pasta, Pesto, and Peas courtesy of the Food Network