Give Peas (and Pesto) a Chance Pasta

In case any of you readers have never met me (unlikely), this is me cooking!  Kuddos to Patrick for taking a flattering photo!

 
  I chose to give this pasta such a corny name because it's inspired one of  Rachel Ray's recipes.  If you know anything about her you know she's crazy and gives her recipes particularly corny names.  Also a quick shoutout to my sister Christie and our friend Katie Paige.  Let's see if they remember singing the All-That version of this song on the playground as kids.

  Now, if you know anything about me, or you have read my sweet potato chili post, you know I'm particularly obsessed with pesto.  I have been known to say I would eat cardboard if it were spread with pesto.  This week I really wanted to start posting pesto-related recipes.

  I regularly make pesto eggs and pesto pizza, but a little google searching brought me to Rachel Ray's recipe for a 3-veggie pasta with pesto.  Her three veggies included zucchini, asparagus, and green beans, and she makes her own pesto.  I love pesto, but I don't yet have the tools to make my own, so I got refrigerated store bought.  I like Buitoni or the made-in-supermarket kind, but not the kind in the jar in the pasta aisle with the spaghetti sauce.  Try the refrigerated kind, and you'll never go back to the other stuff.  I could eat it with a spoon, but usually try to be a bit more civilized and use it as a dip (i.e., eating it with an edible spoon). 

***The trick with pesto is to eat it fresh, as it is.  You can warm it up with the heat of some food (pasta, veggies) or eat it cold, but never cook it!***

  Alright, if I don't stop myself, I could be raving about pesto for who knows how long.  So, here's the easy and veggie-packed recipe for Give Peas (and Pesto) a Chance Pasta.

Mis en place!  A french phrase I have retained since high school "Intro to Culinary Arts."  It's a little snooty, but it makes for a good ingredient photo for this blog and helps me stay organized =P

-1/2 lb of you favorite pasta shape
-1/2 cup frozen peas (these were not in Rachel's recipe, but I thought they would be a good addition... plus peas lend themselves to good titles)
-1 small zucchini
-8 stalks of asparagus
-A handful of fresh green beans
-3/4 cup store-bought (refrigerated) or homemade pesto
-Parmesan cheese for serving

Put a pot of water on the stove to start boiling for the pasta.  You are going to cook the pasta and the veggies in the same water, so get your veggies prepped while the water is boiling.

Cut green beans, asparagus, and zucchini into similarly shaped, 2 inch pieces.  This means cut the tips off the green beans and cut them in half, remove dry ends and quarter the asparagus, and cut the zucchini into little planks.  Set those veggies and the the peas to the side. 

 At this point your water should be boiling.  Dump in the pasta and salt the water.  Let the pasta cook for 6 minutes (it won't be fully cooked yet).  Now it's time to add all four veggies.  Let the pot come back to a boil and cook the pasta and veggies for 3 more minutes.  You want both the pasta and the veggies to be al dente.

Before straining, take out 1/2 cup of the pasta water and set it aside.  Strain the pasta and veggies and dump them back into the same pan with a little bit of olive oil to keep everything from getting sticky.  Add pesto, salt and pepper to your taste and thin the mixture with the pasta water you saved.

Serve immediately with parmesan sprinkled over the top.  As you can see we ate ours with some Rogue Hazelnut Brown Ale.  This was our first time trying this particular Rogue brew and it was goooood, especially alongside this bright and tasty pasta dish.


P.S. For those living in Richmond, Kroger-made pesto is quite good and fairly-priced.  I found it in the deli section with the fancy cheese and the hummus.