Garden Pesto Pasta
This garden pesto pasta is absolutely divine (if I do say so myself). It literally screams ‘summer’, I mean… look at it! In actuality, the pesto is what’s really divine. The noodles and vegetables are just a vehicle. I wanted to really play on the theme of ‘Green’ so I chose to use fresh English peas, sugar snap peas, freshly picked herbs, and fava beans offering all different shades and varieties of textures (4x the green people!). The pesto itself is loaded with so much flavor, you’ll barely be able to handle it. Tossing this in with piping hot pasta and crispy fresh vegetables- it makes for the perfect summer dish. Feel free to play with different ingredients as you could take this in so many fun directions.
Hi! Thank you for this recipe! I’m going to try it soon. As an Italian I can say that we usually eat fava beans with their shells. Only some people (perfectionists) remove them. I once ate with a family from Rome who had been cooking for a very rich lady in the past. They also used fava beans without shell and … cut salad with scissors, not with a knife. That’s not every day Italian cooking. The shells are also a great source of fiber. 😉
Hi Sabina! As it turns out, I never said this was an ‘everyday Italian dish’. It’s simply a recipe from my garden and my home kitchen. As for the shells, I do not like them (nor do a lot of chefs I know) as I find them to be tough. Could you eat them? Sure! Furthermore, you could also call me a perfectionist, and I’m ok with that. Either way, because this is my recipe and people are looking for my guidance, I choose to take them off. Lucky for everyone, you can ultimately decide to push and pull it anyway that you would like. I hope that you enjoy your variation. P.S. I use scissors in the kitchen all the time. 😉
So I ended up making this for the potluck but I forgot to post it here. I started a little late, and decided against using the fava beans since it was taking a while to hull them. I think I might have not blended my basil well enough, but everyone seemed to like it! I’m going to try again soon with more time, and better basil! Maybe I’ll wait until early summer next year. https://www.instagram.com/p/BYCx-jNAtdh/?taken-by=missclairerosems
I’m so excited! I’m going to try to make this for the August Rainbow Co-op Plant-based potluck! Have you gone to one of those yet? It’s a nice place to meet some other local vegans!
Yes, I am planning on going to the next one. Wanna be my date? 🙂
Hehe! Awesome! Uh oh, I might not attempt your dish then, because I know it’ll be a poor version of it! Well, I’ll give it a try anyway, unless you were planning on making that? I can make something else!
Made this with fresh basil from the garden and woah.. It was the best pesto I have ever had in my life! I am so excited to have found your blog, thank you for sharing your talents with us. x
Renee! Thank you so much for making the recipe and leaving a sweet message. I am happy to share with all of you. It truly makes me happy. Sending you love.
Oh Timothy!
What a wonderful summery recipe!
I am not really good at following recipes, I always have to mess with it. Try as I might to make it the way it is written the first time, it’s hard to not throw in this or leave out that. For this one, I didn’t have almonds, so I used raw cashews. I really wanted to use the baby zucchini I got at market so I added that and some broccolini and some sliced sungold tomatoes to finish. They ruined the all green but the color went so nicely I just embraced that.
Needless to say, it was fabulous!
And those favas! labor intensive to get to the good bits, but so satisfying to pop them out of their little rubbery sleeves.
Now I am inspired to tweak even more, to take my misunderstanding of what this recipe was going to be and make
FAVA BEAN PESTO!
This will mean adding the favas to the original pesto, it will be thicker, maybe even hummus like in texture. I may not use any nuts at all, and certainly more lemon juice and oil…
I cannot wait to try it and see what happens…
Thanks so much for the recipe and inspiration. I will be playing with this all summer long.
(are you now not happy you asked for a comment? I can and do go on and on) (can you believe I am quiet and shy IRL?)
hehe
Haha! You are so cute. And YES, this recipe (and almost all of the recipes in my book) will be adaptable and you should have fun with them and experiment with new things. I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thank you for taking the time to write a comment. It’s quite funny to see how many people make my recipes and I don’t find out until I see a comment on Instagram weeks later! LOL Thank you.
I follow a gazillion blogs. Most of them are very popular, with loads of followers. I see an average of 10 comments on their blog posts. One of which is usually mine! Meanwhile, over on good old Instagram, the posts by those very same bloggers have Hundreds of comments. Grated, most of them are an emoji or a couple of words, but there it is.
You aren’t the only one!
I have now made a variation of this recipe several times a week! It’s my summer go-to! I’ve taken to making jars of pesto with all the fresh herbs. Every night when I saute up some veggies from my CSA, I reach for that jar of pesto. Sometimes there is pasta or rice or not.
I did the fava bean pesto and it was absolutely delicious! It did come out almost hummus like and I did use a lot of lemon juice and some miso. But, those favas are so demanding, needy & wanting attention, I’ve not done it again, just the Herby pesto for me.
I have also created the Summer Veggie Pesto Hand Pie to sell at the Farmers Market on Saturdays, needless to say, it’s a hit! My other hand pies are jealous.
Maybe I should sent you an idea finder’s fee?!
There, I did it again, blah blah blah!
I didn’t mean to, really.
Maybe instead of a baker & cook, I should be a writer, because once I get going, it’s hard to shut up. Sorry?
(not really?)
(I meant all those words.)
Bye
I know! It is so crazy to me that no one comments on blogs! And I know people are making my recipes because they tell me on Instagram! LOL Thank you for the kind words. Sending you love!
This looks absolutely yummy!
It is, you should try it!
This is such a great recipe. Seriously the best pesto I’ve ever tasted, and I’ve made a bunch. Simplicity and fresh ingredients win out every time.
Oh my! That is so lovely to hear. Thank you so much for trying it and reaching out. Sending you love.
I looove this recipe ?☘️? thank you for sharing it. Such an amazing combination of flavors ???
Oh I am so glad that you like it! Let me know when you try it. 😉
This is so stunning, yet so simple! I love every image and seriously could probably eat this everyday!
You are so sweet! Thank you Bella! 🙂