Tag Archives: fast dinners

Pea, Arugula and Pistachio Pesto

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I have an early summer twist on a traditional pesto for you today. Instead of basil, peas and arugula take the starring role. Frozen peas are perfect for this recipe. I find that unless you have access to fresh peas immediately after they have been harvested, they always taste starchy to me. Frozen peas are packaged immediately after harvesting and that fresh verdant pop is preserved.

Peas are quite sweet, so the addition of arugula, which is peppery and slightly bitter, is a really nice contrast. Pine nuts are traditional in pesto, but I love the richness and colour you get from pistachios.

The pesto comes together while the pasta is cooking. I love spaghetti for this pesto, but a short tubular shape would also be great, like penne or rigatoni. An extra sprinkling of cheese is not optional, in my opinion, but I’ll leave that up to you. For the photos , I garnished mine with some green pea and purple radish shoots that I found at Produce Depot (Ottawa) this week. I also reserved some of the blanched frozen peas and chopped pistachios to sprinkle on top. I like garnishes that tell a story of what the dish contains.

Click here to print recipe for Spaghetti-with-Pea-Arugula-and-Pistachio-PestoDownload

Pasta alla Trapanese

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I’m feeling a little bit lonely this week. It seems like I’m swimming upstream against a huge tide of pumpkins. My entire Instagram feed is being flooded with pumpkin flavoured everything. I hate pumpkin. Perhaps it stems from Halloween memories of scooping out these slimy seeds and dealing with the stringy guts. I just don’t get the appeal. It’s mostly the pumpkin-spice craze I object to. I don’t understand why it needs to be  sprinkled on everything.

So, just to be contrary, I’m bringing you pasta made with fresh tomatoes. To be clear, they are little grape tomatoes, which are sweet all year long. Make it now, or feel free to bookmark it and save it for when you’re knee deep in snow and can’t stand to eat another roasted anything. You’ll thank me!

This recipe was inspired by an email from my sister with the subject line, “Best thing I’ve eaten in a while!.” Attached was an article about Lidia Bastianich and pasta all trapanese. I had never heard of this pasta sauce before. It originated in the Sicilain town of Trapani. Instead of the Ligurian pesto made with pine nuts and basil, this sauce is made with almonds, basil and tomatoes.

The sauce comes together really quickly in the food processor. The addition of garlic is a must. Just one clove, you don’t want it to overpower. A big pinch of kosher salt is needed. Make sure your almonds are roasted but not salted. Pulse everything in the food processor until you have a chunky sauce. Drizzle in a few tablespoons of really good extra virgin olive oil finish it off.

Although not traditional, I added a big pinch of red pepper flakes. The whole cheese issue is quite controversial. Some sources said to use it, others said no cheese ever. I tried it both ways and I preferred the pesto made without cheese and just a little grated on top table side.

Pick a nice twisty pasta, like Cavatappi, Casarecceso, Fusilli or Gemelli so that all those nooks and crannies can trap this yummy sauce.

 

Click here to print recipe for Pasta alla Trapanese.