Presto pesto: Peas, spinach and basil mix with pasta for simple supper

Many years ago I attended a “knitters and natters” knitting circle at a friend’s house. It was a lively group of creative, clever and accomplished women. We’d bring a potluck dinner and the host would make cocktails. The cocktails did not help with the knitting, but they sure helped with the talking. On the other hand, we were a talkative bunch anyway, so I guess it made us even more so. I do remember one cocktail in particular: a Paloma, the margarita’s lesser-known sister, with fresh grapefruit juice and tequila. Ay caramba!

But sadly, I’m not here to talk about cocktails. My mission today is to get you to eat your veggies and my inspiration is my friend’s delicious pea pesto. She blended peas and fresh mint with olive oil, lemon and Parmesan, and it was incredibly delicious and so pretty, bright green like a — well, like peas and mint. I tried to make it at home but, alas and alack, it was not nearly as good.

I’d forgotten about it until a few weeks ago, while I was casting around on the internet for some inspiration. I saw a bright green pasta made with sugar snap peas, frozen peas, basil and spinach. I saved the recipe, simplified it a bit and now I’m sharing it with you.

I love pesto because it’s so dang easy. Just toss everything in the blender and blend the heck out of it! It’s cathartic and briefly deafening so you have a legitimate excuse to ignore people who are asking you to do things, at least the things you don’t want to do. You are allowed to hear when someone wants to take you out for ice cream or to go on a Hawaiian vacation.

Start by boiling the pasta. Boil water in a 4½-quart pot with ½ teaspoon of salt until bubbly, then add a one-pound box (16 ounces) of dry pasta. Choose something with sauce-catching ridges, like penne rigate, rigatoni, cavatappi, rotini or radiatore.

While the water is boiling and the pasta is cooking to al dente perfection, get out your blender and all the other ingredients. (Al dente means “to the tooth,” meaning that pasta is done when you bite into it and encounter just the slightest resistance due to a whisper-thin layer of as-yet-uncooked pasta. This is because the pasta continues cooking even after you remove it from the heat and mix it with sauce. A well-cooked pasta should absorb some sauce but still retain enough firmness to easily keep its shape. Overboiled pasta is too squishy and comes apart when you try to stir it around in the sauce. Now you know enough facts about al dente to give you a leg up in Trivial Pursuit, should any al dente-related questions arise.)

Put a 16-ounce bag of thawed frozen peas and a five-ounce container of baby spinach in the blender along with a ½-ounce container of fresh basil, ½ cup olive oil, two cloves minced or pressed garlic, 1 cup grated Parmesan, two tablespoons soy sauce, ½ teaspoon lemon pepper and the juice and zest of one lemon. Blend on high until everything is a smooth puree. Scrape the pesto into the bottom of a large bowl. Resist the temptation to add more salt; the pesto gets plenty of sodium from the soy sauce, lemon pepper and Parmesan.

I’d like to pause here to mention how much I love my blender, Li’l Crusher, the best pandemic purchase of them all. I am as proud of this appliance as any 1950s housewife in a magazine ad. I understand that owning a blender is not an accomplishment per se, but even so, this little guy makes me feel like I’ve reached a certain level of civilized living. Never mind that I can barely operate my dishwasher. Why does it have so many buttons and lights?

When the pasta is done, remove it from the heat and drain it (but do not rinse). Return the pasta to the warm pot and add one or two tablespoons olive oil. Set the pot on an unheated surface and let it sit for three to five minutes. Then dump the pasta into the bowl with the pesto and add a half-cup shaved Parmesan. Stir the pasta and Parmesan around until they’re completely coated with pesto. Serve in the bowl with an additional quarter-cup of shaved Parmesan sprinkled over the top.

Yes, that’s a lot of cheese. You’re welcome.

Pasta With Pea and Spinach Pesto

½ teaspoon salt for the pasta water

1 pound (16 ounces) ridged pasta, like penne rigate or rigatoni

One 16-ounce bag frozen peas, thawed

One 5-ounce container of baby spinach

One ½-ounce container of fresh basil

½ cup olive oil for pesto, plus 1-2 tablespoons for pasta

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 minced garlic cloves

Zest and juice from 1 lemon

1 cup grated Parmesan

½ cup shaved Parmesan, plus ¼ cup for garnish

Fill a 4.5-quart pot 2/3 full of water and bring to a roiling boil with ½ teaspoon salt. Add all the pasta and cook, uncovered, on high until al dente (10-12 minutes). While pasta is cooking, add peas, spinach, basil, olive oil, soy sauce, garlic, lemon pepper, lemon juice and zest and grated Parmesan to blender. Blend until smooth. Scrape pesto into large serving bowl and set aside. Remove pasta from heat and drain, but leave in pot. Add a dash of salt and one to two tablespoons olive oil, toss gently until coated and let the pasta rest on an unheated surface for five minutes. Dump pasta into the bowl with pesto and add ½ cup shaved Parmesan. Stir until everything is well-coated. To serve, sprinkle another ¼ cup of shaved Parmesan on top.

Editor’s note: The U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service recommends cooking frozen produce to 165 degrees before consuming to prevent foodborne illness.