The Best Pea Pesto with sweet homegrown garden peas, homegrown mint, homegrown spring onions, homegrown garlic and yes, homegrown chilis is made every year from this rookie gardener.
Pea Pesto
I can think of a gazillion recipes to incorporate pea pesto. It is great as a dip for a veggie platter. The perfect spread on any sandwich, and the schmear under perfectly sautéed scallops!
Pea Garden And Grandchildren
Every year, since my grandson was four, I take him to a garden shop in March and tell him to pick any seed he wants grandma to grow. He always picks peas. Together we take small cups, fill with dirt and he puts one (often more, oops), seed in each cup. Each time he comes over, we inspect our peas in the cups until they are ready to plant outside.
The fun part comes when we can go out into the garden and pick fresh peas from the beautiful climbing pea plants, fill a bowl with fresh peas, come into the kitchen and make something amazing with them. Memories I hope he will keep a lifetime.
Peas Pesto And Chefs
It just so happens that my grandson’s daddy (my son), is a professional chef. Since my birthday falls in December, he knows to make mama her favorite meat, lamb.
But on one year, he made me my first pea pesto as a schmear, for a beautiful array of perfectly chili seared scallops. I have made them often since then and will always remember how proud I felt, as a mom, on my birthday.
Since that year and the memories of joy it gives a mother when her children create the moments she will cherish most, I started growing peas in my garden.
Every June, when it’s time to harvest the peas I planted in spring, I make a big batch of Pea Pesto simply because my son taught me, how delicious it is.
Now I send over a huge basket of freshly harvested peas to him and his family to create many new recipes I how to include here in the future. But for now, Seared Scallops Over Pea Pesto is still my favorite!
Perfect Peas For Kids
Who says kids won’t eat their veggies! Peas especially, can be a favorite veggie if they are made interesting. If the children help you grow them, even one pea plant in a pot and get to see them through from seed to kitchen.
If you just leave them whole and drizzle a little butter. If you present them in a fun way… they are sure to eat their peas! If not, put that pea pesto into their meatballs, they won’t know it’s there!!
Wonton Cup Pea Pesto
Another accidental delicious tapas recipe I created was to bake wonton wrappers into cups, using a muffin tin which gave me a serving base for a tapas platter.
From there, I just put a dollop of pea pesto in each baked cup and a sautéed shrimp on top. At a family gathering in the middle of summer these Pea Pesto and Shrimp Wonton Cups were the perfect appetizer on a tapas spread, and disappeared first!.
How To Make Pea Pesto
Once the peas have been blanched, only enough to soften them (never cook the dang green out of them!), the rest just happens in a food processor. Toss all the ingredients into a blender or processor and whirl until pureed. Pea pesto is then ready for a variety of recipes or simply freeze in small batches for future use.
Ingredients Needed
- Fresh Peas
- Garlic
- Spring onion
- Chili
- Mint
- Lemon
- Olive oil
- Salt
Equipment Needed
- Sauce pan
- Slotted spoon
- Garlic press
- Citrus press
- Measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- Food processor or blender
- Stovetop or burner
Home Pea Garden For Fresh Pesto
Course: Salads and Veggies4
servingsSweet homegrown garden peas, homegrown mint, homegrown spring onions, homegrown garlic and yes, homegrown chilis.
Ingredients
Peas – 1 cup, blanched
Garlic – 1 clove
Spring onion – 2
Chili – 1 tabasco chili or other small chili
Mint – 1/4 cup of mint leaves
Lemon – 1 tablespoon juice and 1 small peel
Olive oil – 1 tablespoon
Salt – 1/4 teaspoon
Directions
- Once the peas have been blanched to soften, place in the processor.
- Rough chop the mint leaves and toss into the processor along with the remaining ingredients. Puree until smooth.
Recipe Video
I believe the table... that place that draws people to gather, is the most powerful symbol of togetherness. All that happens before the table is set, the planning, the gathering, the preparing, are all an intricate part of the dance that create the mood of celebration to share with friends and loved ones.
Looks so yummy