Citrus pea pesto

5 days ago the sun was out, birds were chirping, Ulysses was mowing the lawn, I was giving Ginger a bath outside and an early Sunday dinner of a fresh, pea pesto sounded delicious.

As I’m writing this, this is the weather forecast.

Mother Nature can be one sick biatch.

Yes, those are snowflakes. Oh, and look! They reappear on Saturday. How thoughtful of them. Today is my brother’s birthday, (Happy Birthday Adrian!) 27 years ago it was 90 degrees, or so my mother says, I don’t remember much when I was 2. Seriously New York? Get your shit together.

We (that’s me and you all) haven’t experienced a winter together yet but I’m giving fair warning, expect many references to how much I hate this God forsaken state for the next 6 months. It will chill us to the bone, look like a nuclear bomb went off outside, make me spend thousands of dollars in oil and keep me cooped up inside like caged animal. 5 days was not enough transition for me to mentally prepare.

I miss Florida.

Let’s go back to Sunday night instead.

How do you satisfy a craving for pesto when your basil plant has all but kicked the bucket? Peas and baby spinach! Oh, and some cannellini beans which kind of makes this a pseudo hummus but I’m still calling it pesto. It’s kind of got the best of both worlds actually. Fresh tasting like pesto, creamy like hummus. Sounds like the perfect topping for pasta, doesn’t it?

Other uses?

Dip some baby carrots in it, slather it on bread for a sandwich, use it as “dressing” for a salad, use it in place of mayo in a tuna salad.

I made enough for about a pound of pasta but then ended up only using about half a pound of an already open box so I got a bit creative with the leftovers.

My favorite part about this though is that you get the satisfaction of a fresh tasting pesto without the need for seasonal ingredients.

This could end up being my form of therapy for the next six months. It’s a bit cheaper than a psychologist.

Citrus Pea Pesto

Yield: About 2 cups, enough to coat 1 lb. of pasta

• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 1 14.5 oz. can cannellini beans, drained & rinsed
• 1 cup loosely packed baby spinach
• 1 clove garlic
• juice of 1 lemon
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a food processor except for olive oil. Pulse until finely chopped. Scrape down the sides and turn on food processor. While food processor is running, slowly pour in olive oil. Process until creamy and smooth. Transfer to a bowl and mix in parmesan cheese.

Tagged as: cheese, hummus, pasta, peas, pesto, spinach