minted pea pesto

Oh wow, I feel like myself again.

With all the green juices, kale smoothies, and quinoa salads I knew something was a little off.

Turns out we were deficient in something very important.

You guessed it, bacon.

We have been feeling really good lately, but for some reason something has been missing.  Turns out all I had to do was run to our local grocery store and purchase some of my favorite meat.  And guess what, we feel like a million bucks.

The recipe for tonight’s dinner was inspired by a few things.  First off, we have been picking peas for a few weeks now and it was about time that I finally did something with them.  Secondly, my mom makes an amazing minted peas crostini recipe which is where I got most of my ideas from. But last and certainly not least, we needed a little bacon in our lives.  And this meal did the trick.

Minted Pea Pesto Pasta with Parmesan and Bacon.

If you are skeptical about the recipe below, I promise you need to try it.  This was absolutely refreshing and delicious.  We will definitely be making this again soon.

Minted pea pesto:

3 cups peas (if frozen thawed)

1 cup mint leaves

1/2 cup parsley

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tbs fresh lemon juice

a handful of parmesan

salt and pepper to taste

Puree the mint, 1 cup peas, parsley, lemon juice, parmesan, and oil in a food processor.  Stir in the remaining peas to the mixture at the end.  This will make a nice chunky texture.

Cooke pasta according to directions.

Once pasta is cooked add pesto, more parmesan cheese and garnish with fried bacon crumbles.

The sweetness of the pea pesto combined with the saltiness of the bacon and parmesan is amazing.  This meal is refreshing on a hot summer day and I cannot wait to make it again!

We enjoyed our pasta with a glass of Rose’.  The best ending to a long day at the farm.