This post contains helpful tips and tricks! If you’re in a rush, please use the “Jump to Recipe” above! Jump to:💭 Why you’ll love this recipe 📋 Ingredients and notes 📖 Step-by-step instructions🍴 Serving and storage suggestions📖 Recipe💬 Comments
💭 Why you’ll love this recipe
Super simple, fifteen minute recipe: This recipe takes all of five minutes - throw some stuff in a food processor, and you’re basically done Switch up your pesto game! I love a good Genovese pesto, and in the winter, I almost always have some of my vegan kale pesto. But springtime means it’s time for pea pesto! Nutritious, hearty and delicious all at once. Pea shoots have dietary fiber, vitamins A, C and E, and potassium, so they’re actually great from a nutrition standpoint!
📋 Ingredients and notes
You’ll need pea shoots, toasted nuts (I use pistachios here but check notes below for substitution), garlic cloves, olive oil, salt and pepper for this pea shoot pesto. If you eat cheese, you can also add some vegetarian parmesan for additional umami flavors!
Notes and Variations
Pea shoots vs. spring greens: I have a local farmers’ market where we get tons of pea shoots in the spring and summer. If you don’t have access to pea shoots, you can actually use any light, leafy spring green or herbs in this recipe! Oh, you can also add some actual peas to the recipe for additional spring-y flavors! Pistachios vs. other nuts: This recipe is vegan as written, so I like using pistachios or pine nuts since it really amplifies the umami flavor profiles without using cheese. That said, you can use walnuts, cashews, or any other nuts - toasted and untoasted both work! If you buy the salted version, don’t add any additional salt while pulsing. Burst of acid: Occasionally I’ll add a good squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice into the pesto when I want a nice burst of acid! Or you can do this when you serve the pasta!
📖 Step-by-step instructions
Toast the nuts (if not already toasted)
Preheat the oven to 350F. Then throw a cup of pistachios, pine nuts, or nuts of choice on a baking sheet and then pop them in the oven for about 5 to 10 minutes. Toasting nuts really amplifies the nutty flavor in delicious ways. However, if you’re time crunched, you can skip the step or buy pre-toasted nuts from a grocery aisle!
Process the pea shoot pesto
Add chopped pea shoots, toasted nuts and garlic cloves (and cheese if you’re using that) with salt and pepper to a food processor bowl. Pulse until you get to a coarse consistency.
Then, if your food processor has a chute through which you can add stuff while it pulses, add olive oil slowly and continue to pulse until you get to a smooth consistency. If it doesn’t have a chute, then add olive oil one tablespoon at a time and continue to pulse.
Psst: You can also add frozen, fresh or blanched peas to this pesto to amplify the flavors and take it from a pea shoot pesto to a pea pesto!
🍴 Serving and storage suggestions
This pea shoot pesto can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days. Then, I put it on everything. Seriously, delicious pesto pastas, sandwiches, pesto salads - the world is your oyster. To start with, check out this mouthwatering pea shoot pesto pasta with roasted oyster mushrooms - nothing screams springtime more than this pasta! If you love pesto, don’t forget to check out some of these other recipes! If you tried this recipe, don’t forget to comment and rate! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
📖 Recipe
