What we love about this green veggie pasta
- We love, love, love all the veggies in this pasta. Peas, asparagus and spinach, talk about nutritious pasta dish – it’s well rounded meatless option, so what’s not to love here?
- Adding cream to a pesto sauce adds a deep richness and a smooth, creamy texture. You can use store bought pesto sauce for this recipe if you want to skip a few steps, but you might miss out on the added nutrients of all the fresh spinach we packed into the pesto sauce.
Here’s what you’ll need to make it
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- Basil leaves – Fresh basil leaves are a must for this recipe. Toss them in a quick ice bath for extra bright green sauce. (Make sure you let the leaves dry if you do)
- Pine nuts – These little tree nuts have a subtle, sweet flavor that gives pesto it’s unique flavor profile, but if you can’t find them, cashews or almonds would work really well. Try to use peeled or blanched almonds to prevent bitterness.
- Garlic
- Pecorino romano – We love the salty, sharp flavor for this for pesto, but you can also substitute any good quality parmesan cheese.
- Olive oil – Normally we keep extra virgin olive oil on hand, so that’s what we use, but you can also use a lighter olive oil – it should still have a good amount of flavor.
- Frozen peas
- Asparagus
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
How to make this green veggie pasta with pesto sauce
Make the pesto. Combine all of the ingredients (except olive oil) into the bowl of a food processor, or blender. Pulse until the basil and nuts have been finely chopped. Scrape the sides with a spatula once or twice to make sure there are no big pieces remaining. Blend until the sauce is almost smooth, then add olive oil and pulse a few more times. Set aside until the pasta is done.
Cook the pasta. In a large pot of salted water, cook pasta to al denté according to package directions. When the pasta is done, reserve ½ cup of pasta water, drain and return to the pot.
Sauce and serve. Add pesto sauce, cream and a splash of pasta water to the pot with the pasta. Stir to until the pasta and veggies are well coated in sauce, adding additional pasta water if needed. Garnish with pine nuts, sliced fresh basil and pecorino romano.
Why does my homemade pesto taste bitter?
If your pesto is bitter, it might be your olive oil. We recommend tasting your olive oil before using it to detect any bitterness.
You’ll also want to use good quality oil and add it to the food processor last (the less it blends the better). So don’t over process. Pesto is meant to be like a coarse paste rather than a smooth sauce.
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Green Veggie Pasta with Pesto Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh spinach leaves (packed)
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves (packed)
- 1/3 cup pine nuts (toasted)
- 1/2 cup grated pecorino romano cheese
- 3 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 16 ounces farfalle pasta
- 1 bunch of fresh asparagus (trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces)
- 1 cup frozen peas (thawed)
Instructions
- Add spinach, basil, pine nuts, pecorino romano cheese, garlic. Pulse until coarsely blended then add olive oil. Pulse again to incorporate olive oil, without over processing it. Remove from food processor bowl and set aside.
- Cook the pasta to al denté according to package directions. With 2 minutes remaining, add asparagus and peas. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water, drain and return to pan.
- Add heavy cream, pesto sauce and a few tablespoons of reserved pasta water, stirring until well coated.
- Garnish with additional pine nuts and grated pecorino romano cheese before serving.
Nutrition
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