Pea-Mint Pesto Fusilli

There's always room for a fresh take on pesto pasta.

Fusilli with Minty Pea Pesto
Photo: Jennifer Causey
Hands On Time:
15 mins
Total Time:
30 mins
Servings:
4

The pesto sauce on this fusilli offers a new twist: slightly sweet peas that transform the sauce into a silky, balanced revelation. The corkscrew curls of the fusilli will snag ample sauce, to make a delightful, crowd-pleasing dish that's one of our favorite easy Easter dinner ideas.

Ingredients

  • 12 ounces fusilli or other short pasta

  • ½ cup packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

  • ¼ cup packed fresh mint leaves

  • 2 ounces pecorino Romano cheese, shredded (about 1/2 cup), plus more for serving

  • 2 cloves garlic

  • 2 cups frozen peas (from a 10-oz. pkg.), thawed, divided

  • ½ cup toasted pine nuts, divided

  • ¼ cup olive oil

  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for water

  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

  1. Cook pasta in a large pot of generously salted water according to package directions for al dente. Reserve 1 cup cooking water. Drain pasta; return it to pot.

  2. Meanwhile, place parsley, mint, cheese, garlic, 1½ cups peas, and ¼ cup pine nuts in a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. With processor running, drizzle in oil; process until pesto is smooth, about 1 minute.

  3. Add pesto, salt, pepper, ½ cup reserved cooking water, and remaining ½ cup peas to pasta in pot. Cook over medium, stirring constantly, until pasta is fully coated and warmed through, about 2 minutes. Add more reserved cooking water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to loosen sauce to desired consistency. Serve topped with remaining ¼ cup pine nuts and cheese.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

649 Calories
31g Fat
76g Carbs
21g Protein
Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 4
Calories 649
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 31g 40%
Saturated Fat 7g 35%
Cholesterol 15mg 5%
Sodium 600mg 26%
Total Carbohydrate 76g 28%
Dietary Fiber 7g 25%
Total Sugars 8g
Protein 21g 42%

*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

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