notes, quotes & anecdotes of a year fast passing

i feel like this recipe (yeah, yeah, originally giada) has been following me around for a year. every healthy food blog, recipe blog and friend has whipped this up and told me about it. i’ve seen pictures of the BRIGHT green appetizer, heard rave reviews and finally got around to making it. let me tell you… it lives up to the hype, too!

it’s really, really simple to make and you can get so creative with the leftovers. i used it as a spread on a sandwich with grilled chicken, spinach and tomato. i’ve seen it used in chicken salad, i bet it’d be good on top of a salad or even in an omelet. go crazy!

also, the easiest thing about this is you probably have most of the ingredients on hand, so it can be made pretty last minute and for not much money. i think the only thing i really had to buy was the baguette. how easy!

my dad - the daring eater of my family - for some reason doesn’t like pesto very much. he struggles with why, considering he likes all the ingredients (pine nuts, basil, olive oil, garlic), but there’s just something about it he doesn’t love. on the other hand, my mom will always push peas to the side of her plate if they’re in a dish. considering both these things… they both really liked the pea pesto! there’s just something about it, you can’t help but enjoy it. it’s sweet, flavorful and the texture is perfect on the crunchy baguette. just try it, you’ll thank me.

1 1/2 cups frozen peas (completely defrosted, but not cooked)

2 garlic cloves

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus 2 Tablespoons for crostini

pinch kosher salt

pinch black pepper

3-4 Tablespoons olive oil, plus an additional Tablespoon for crostini

baguette, sliced into 1/2” thick slices

pinch garlic powder

grape tomatoes, halved

first, let the peas defrost/thaw completely. you don’t want to cook them, but too-cold peas lead to a frosty mess in the food processor. learn from my mistake! just leave the bag of peas out on the counter for a while before you start cooking.

next, pour them into a food processor and pulse them a little bit til they’re broken down.

add the garlic, parmesan, salt and pepper and add in 2-3 Tablespoons of olive oil. pulse it for a good 1-2 minutes and add a little more olive oil if it needs some help moving around the food processor.

when everything is well blended and mixed into one bright green spread, take it out of the food processor and put in a bowl to set aside.

meanwhile, slice your grape tomatoes, lengthwise, in half. they’re the perfect sweet little garnish. as to how many you’ll need… however many slices of baguette you’re prepping, you need that many tomato slices (so half the number of whole tomatoes as bread slices).

to make the crostini, slice a baguette into 1/2”  discs. drizzle very lightly with olive oil, a pinch of parmesan and a light dusting of garlic powder. bake in a 250 degree oven for about five minutes or until lightly golden and crisped.

finish by layering 2-3 Tablespoons of the pesto on top of the baguette and laying the tomato, seed side down, on top. so pretty!

click here for a printable version of the recipe!