Pea Pesto Crostinis

Last summer when I was dog sitting for a professor in the department, the best part of payment was not a nice check, but good wine, conversation, and….pea pesto.  Well, pea pesto with homemade bread and these fantastic over-sized chocolate chip cookies (with kosher salt on top! a special recipe from The New York Times food and dining section).  After last summer, I resolved to make this pea pesto recipe once again when I realized that in an earlier post, pesto does not need to be limited to basil and pine nuts, but can really be extra special when different kinds of greens (such as spinach or peas) and different kinds of nuts (such as pistachios or pecans) are incorporated into this paste.

However, I could not (and still cannot) find the pea pesto recipe at the NYT website.  Rather, after much searching, I was able to locate a similar recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentis.  I’ve made several changes to the original (added pistachio nuts as there wasn’t a nut component), basil infused olive oil from Vom Fass instead of regular olive oil, and even threw in two fresh, but finely chopped basil leaves during the puree process (to give it that hint of familiar basil pesto).  The result? An extraordinarily flavorful spread that can be eaten on bread (toasted or not) such as a crostini (recipe below), or on fish such as seared ahi tuna.  This pesto is earthy, light, and clearly delicious.

1.) Begin by thawing the sweet peas.  Add 10 ounces peas to a bowl of hot water and allow to sit until thawed (about 5-10 minutes).  Drain peas.

2.) Add peas to the food processor followed by 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese, 2 garlic cloves (pressed or minced), salt, pepper, and pistachios.  Pulse to combine.  You may need to stop the pulsing process and scrape down the sides at some point and repeat (this way, the peas become processed as much as possible).

3.) Drizzle in 1/3 cup basil infused olive oil (or regular) while the processor is going.  Stop processor, scrape down sides, and pulse several more times until pesto is fully integrated.