Rigatoni with Pea Pesto

By
La Cuisine de Géraldine

How to make Pea Pesto?

When I say pea pesto, I mean a pesto made with peas but also with fresh spinach, basil, parmesan, garlic and olive oil. I also added a few almonds to replace the pine nuts and some lemon to counterbalance the slightly sweet taste of the peas. The principle is very simple: I cooked my fresh spinach with garlic for a few minutes in a saucepot. I then added the peas so they would cook. Then I poured it all into a blender with basil leaves, parmesan, a few almonds and a drizzle of olive oil. I then blended it all together and seasoned it with salt and pepper. To finish, I added a dash of lemon. My little tip: add some of the pasta cooking water to your pesto and mix it again. Your pesto will be smoother!

Ingredients

For the pea pesto

  • 200 g spinach, fresh

  • 200 g peas, frozen

  • 50 g of parmesan

  • 30 g almonds

  • 1 handful of basil leaves

  • 1 clove of garlic

  • 1/2 lemon

  • 60 ml olive oil

  • Salt and pepper

For the pasta

  • 400 rigatoni or other type of pasta

  • 100 g peas frozen

  • 2 tablespoons ricotta cheese

  • Salt and pepper

Preparations

Step 1

* Cook the rigatoni in boiling water as directed on the package. Set aside 10 cl of pasta cooking water taken at the end of cooking * In a saucepot, sauté the frozen peas with the chopped garlic clove and a dash of olive oil. After about 5 minutes, add the spinach. You can add a little water to the bottom of the pan so that the vegetables don’t stick. * Once the peas are cooked, pour the peas, spinach and garlic into a blender. Remove excess water beforehand if there is too much. Then add the parmesan, basil, almonds, olive oil and the juice of half a lemon. Add salt and pepper. * Blend until you get a homogeneous sauce. Then add some of the cooking water and mix again. Depending on the desired consistency, you can add more or less pasta water. * In the still saucepot, sauté the peas for decoration until they are cooked but still crunchy. * Mix the pasta with the pesto and a few peas and serve with a spoonful of ricotta cheese, a final drizzle of olive oil and some lemon juice.

Facts

  • 4 Servings

  • 20 Minutes

  • 686 Kcal