Barefoot Bloggers: Pasta, Pesto & Peas

Mmmm... this was great! The only thing - I'm not a mayo lover, so I substituted ricotta cheese. This is from Ina Garten's Recipe from the Barefoot Blogger's group. This was easy - but beware, it makes enough food for about 8 people! Or more! I'll be bringing this to work for the next potluck - it'd be good hot or cold or room temp. Just beware of the mayo (I subbed ricotta).
You'll need lemon juice of course. Living in a county that is a federal disaster area right now is hard to find fresh produce. Seriously - there've been no deliveries to the grocery stores in the area since last week, so there's been slim pickins'.
Tonight it's Pinot Grigio. 3 Blind Moose is pretty cheap. Not too bad - better than beer tonight! Plus I'm only cooking for one - so I'm only making approximately half of what the recipe calls for, mainly because I can't eat a pound of pasta on my own.

Defrost and then drain your frozen spinach while the pasta cooks. Easy enough.

Open the pesto and dump into your food processor. Or just make pesto yourself. I wasn't in the mood to make any more dishes dirty. There's even more recipes on the inside lid of the Buitoni packaging. Hmmm...
How I drain spinach: Defrost in the microwave, then get a big bunch of towels, wrap up in your hands and squeeze thoroughly. No green dishtowels!
My incredibly messy countertop. Eh, it's small what the heck am I supposed to do? You want to dump the lemon juice, pesto and spinach into the food processor. Pulse a few times and then add either your mayo or your sub for it. Process a few times more.
My favorite picture to take - lemons or limes squeezed & zested!
The end product! Voila!

Pasta, Pesto & Peas

From Ina Garten

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

Enjoy!

PSH