Pesto Pea Salad
This pesto pea salad is wonderfully simple. It is fresh and tasty. I prefer to have it as a side salad with an entree as it is flavorful.
- ¼ pound baby spinach leaves
- 10 ounce package of frozen peas defrosted (or fresh peas if you have them)
- ½ cup pesto *I used kale pesto this time, but any kind will do
- ¼ freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2 TBS toasted pine nuts *heat on the stove for a few minutes – do not use oil in the pan
Wash the spinach leaves and spin them dry. Place the spinach and the peas in a large bowl. Add the pesto and parmesan, then sprinkle with the salt. Toss well, sprinkle with pine nuts, and serve.
If you’d like to make your own pesto, here is a recipe.
- ¼ walnuts
- ¼ pignolis
- 3 TBS diced garlic (9 cloves)
- 5 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 ½ cup olive oil
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese
Place walnuts, pignolis, and garlic in food processor. Process a few seconds. Add basil, salt and pepper. With processor running slowly pour olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube and process until the pesto is finely pureed. Add Parmesan and puree for 1 minute. Serve or store in fridge or freezer with a thin film of olive oil on top.
This recipe is from the cookbook of Ina Garten.
If you use fresh peas do you need to cook them first?
Frozen peas work great! If you would prefer fresh peas you can use them as they are, however I think I would prefer to blanch them. *To blanch peas: drop them into a pot of boiling water, let them cook for 1 1/2 minutes, then drain them immediately. Transfer them to a bowl of ice water to stop the residual heat in the peas from continuing to cook them. Leave the peas in the ice water for 2 minutes and then drain them in a colander and incorporate into salad.