One of my favorite columns/series on Serious Eats is French in Flash, authored by Kerry Saretsky, creator of French Food Revolution. The dishes are usually extremely simple and always even more delicious. Typically I put the ideas in the back of my head (or add as a bookmark on my computer) and cook something based on that idea. This time, the recipe was for a Sweet Pea Pistou and Chèvre. The Vegetarian said this was a must make…so I embarked on the ingredients and made it with a few changes.
As crazy as it sounds, I didn’t use any fresh basil, and instead used some dry basil and just added a bit more peas. It came out well, and once it was mixed with the pasta, a little pasta water to moisten and the cheese, it was a winner.
Ingredients:
serves serves 4 to 6
1 pound penne pasta
Kosher salt
2 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons dry basil
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts*
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup coarsely grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1 pound thawed frozen peas**
Freshly ground black pepper
3 ounces fresh goat cheese
*You can toast in the oven, or add to a small skillet with a drop of oil and toast over medium heat for 3-5 minutes.
**You can accelerate this by adding to colander and rinse with warm water.
Bring a large pot of water to boil, adding several pinches of salt to the water. Cook the pasta in the boiling water until al dente, reserving about 1/4 cup of pasta water.
Meanwhile, in a food processor, blend the garlic, basil, and pine nuts in the food processor until a paste forms. Add the cheese and with processor on, pour in oil through the feed tube, about 2 minutes. Add the peas, and season with salt and pepper. Purée until completely smooth, about 2-4 more minutes.
Add cooked pasta to large bowl, and add pea pistou and toss together. Here you can add 2 to 4 tablespoons of pasta water to loosen the sauce. Add only a little at a time until the consistency is right. Add crumbled goat cheese and toss once or twice. Enjoy!!!
the vegetarian would like to add that the leftover pistou was also really yummy on cheese sandwiches