Most nights, I give myself exactly one hour to make dinner. This might seem like an abundance of time, and sometimes it is, but other times my attention and efforts get divided. Frequently, my legs become a tunnel for both my tiny human and his parade of cars to drive through. Sometimes my work surface becomes a highway or, more popularly, the perfect place for sheetpans, beans, measuring spoons and bowls to become musical instruments. Sometimes, my arms are needed to hold, or cradle, or make snacks, or nests or pretty much anything but dinner. And, because this time at home, when we’re all gathered together is completely sacred, I allow it all.
Amidst it all, rarely is dinner derailed (though it is sometimes late.) And this has everything to do with the fact that I’ve resigned myself to this fact that dinner is not currently an act of creativity, or curiosity. It is just dinner, made with beautiful ingredients in an ridiculously easy shape.
At least once a week we have a simple pasta with pesto. I don’t typically use a recipe, and instead pull whatever fistfuls of herbs and greens are begging to be used up. I am absolutely not shy when it comes to the volume of greens I’m blending in because it’s a wonderful way for us all to reap the benefits, and pesto is a fabulous way of getting a toddler to eat spinach, arugula, cilantro, basil – you name it.
Most recently, when I went to pull the usual fistfuls of leftover greens from the fridge, I found that the supply was actually pretty scanty. But I did have a healthy stash of fresh sugar snap peas calling to me. So, I tossed them into the mix. The result was our best pesto ever, and one very worth sharing with you.
There is a LOT to be said for pesto the way our grandmother’s made it. But this is not that pesto. This is a fast, fresh, resourceful version that breaks all the rules. For starters, I should actually call this incredible condiment a “pistou” because pesto implies that there’s cheese swirled in, while a pistou lacks the former. But I call this pesto in our house, this is just the way we make it: with beautiful fresh veggies, seeds, lemon, a little seasoning and a lot of intention.
If you thought that pesto was exclusively made from basil, pine nuts and cheese, then let’s get you thinking outside the box. My Italian relatives would roll in their graves if they heard me speak of this beloved condiment in this way, but it’s really true. A pesto is more of a blueprint than it is a “recipe,” and the formula is simple:
vegetables that can be blended + nuts or seeds + an acid + oil = pesto
And so, by this logic, you could also make a pesto from carrots! Or beets! Or asparagus I suppose! But snap peas are truly an excellent choice because they’re sweet, balancing and help to give the pesto a round flavor WITHOUT cheese.
I don’t leave the cheese out because I don’t like it. On the contrary! Most typically, I’m making pesto so we can eat pesto pasta, and I love cheese with this dish. But, you absolutely do not need cheese in your pesto to make it creamy and craveable. The creamy texture typically achieved by adding cheese can also be achieved by blending olive oil in the mixer with the other ingredients. The result is a kind of whipped pesto that’s literally to die for.
My suggestion? Leave the cheese out. Lighten up your pesto, and save the parm for adorning.
Is sweet, buttery, bright and flavorful. Unlike traditional pesto, which is aggravating to pitta dosha, is actually beneficial for the tridosha – something that marinara sauce (both jarred and homemade) can’t say. This pesto soothes vata dosha by dishing up a healthy serving of sweet peas, which are grounding and calming. Pitta dosha loves this pesto because it’s cooled by both the sugar snap peas and the spinach, and kapha dosha loves the bitterness and astringency of spinach, particularly with a bit of smoked red pepper flakes on top.
The recipe here is easy peasy (see!) and takes literally zero time. You will need a food processor or high speed blender to pull it off, but it will only take 10 minutes max once you’ve got the processor on the counter.
Lastly, “what do I do with this pesto?” you might be asking. The answer is EVERYTHING! I use it as a pasta sauce most often, but it also moonlights as a sauce for homemade pizza, a dressing for grain bowls, a spread for sandwiches, a dip for veggies and crackers, a base for salad dressing…I could go on. Literally use this pesto as liberally and abundantly as you wish.
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