Spring Vegetable Pesto Pasta

I was an odd child, but this shouldn’t really come as a surprise.  I was the child in pre-school that the teachers worried about because I was “special”.  And by special, I mean I was the child singing the “VD is for everyone” song during nap time.  Granted, I had no idea when I was five what VD was, but it had a catchy tune and they played the dang public service announcement all the time in Germany.  So of course I thought it was appropriate to sing about sexually transmitted diseases while the other kids were trying to sleep.  But the oddest thing about me (or at least according to my fellow pre-schoolers) was my love of peas.  I seriously LOVED peas…so much so, I’d hide cupfuls of the little green gems in my room whenever my mother made them for dinner.  What?  Like you never did that…

Considering my ardent love of peas, I was super excited to see shelled English peas at the Bloomingdale Farmers Market last weekend.  The thing is, I’ve never had fresh peas before…last Spring I completely missed the pea season and DC is the first city I’ve lived in with such a vibrant farmers market scene.  So this Spring I was dead set on getting my hands on fresh English peas to see if they were as amazing as the boards on Don Rockwell touted.  Rumors had been swirling that fresh peas were showing up around the DC farmers markets, but I’d yet to actually see them myself.  Someone said they were being sold at Penn Quarter on Thursday evenings, but they were gone before I could get there.  I went to the Foggy Bottom Farmers Market after hearing one of their produce stands had them, but there were only snow peas for sale (and I really don’t like snow peas).  I was starting to think these peas were more elusive than the Holy Grail.  When I found out Garner’s Produce would have a limited supply at Bloomingdale, I made sure to be there before the market bell rang so I could stake out my very own pint of peas.  When I finally had them in my hands, I felt almost like I’d won the Super Bowl…although I refrained from spiking the container.  There was just one problem…I hadn’t a clue what to do with them.  That is until I popped one in my mouth uncooked…and it was heavenly!  Sweet and tender, with a slight crunch to them, they made the perfect snack.  I could have easily kept popping the little beauties into my mouth with abandon, but I figured I should do something a bit more productive with them.

Since asparagus is still hanging around the farmers markets, I decided to combine them with the peas for a Springtime stir fry.  But then I looked in the freezer and remembered I had some lovely fettuccine from Cavanna Pasta dying to be used.  I decided to combine the asparagus and peas with a creamy arugula pesto to make a light and oh so Springtime-y pesto pasta.  I managed to make the dish without finishing off all the peas by myself…but only barely.

Spring Vegetable Pesto Pasta

1 batch of Creamy Arugula Walnut Pesto

1 bunch of fresh asparagus, diced

2 cups of fresh peas, rinsed and drained

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

8 ounces fresh fettuccine (can use dried fettuccine if you can’t find fresh)

Dice the asparagus into bite sized pieces and toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and salt and pepper.  Heat up the remaining olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat and add the asparagus.  Saute until the asparagus is tender but still firm (about five to seven minutes).  Add the peas during the last two minutes of cooking time and then remove the vegetables from the heat.

While the vegetables are cooking, make the creamy arugula walnut pesto (follow the link for the recipe to this lovely pesto…yes it’s my recipe, but it’s still lovely).  Bring a pot of water to a boil and then salt it before tossing in the fresh pasta.   Cook for two to three minutes and then drain – reserve a 1/2 cup of the pasta water though.  Combine the pasta, the pesto and the vegetables in a big serving bowl and toss to evenly coat all of it.  Serve and Enjoy!

This recipe highlights the great produce available at local farmers markets right now.  Get out and find a farmers market near you!

Tagged as: Asparagus, Asparagus Recipes, Pasta, Pasta Recipes, Pea Recipes, Peas, Pesto, Pesto Recipes