Pea Pesto Protein Pasta

By Francesca Annenberg

It’s been a while since I lasted threw a recipe on this lil blog of mine. This year has taken some adjusting but I feel I have my groove again. I started this year with three new housemates, a new team of work colleagues, while I was focusing hard on my Budokon yoga teacher training preparation, shedding old patterns and thought processes, and a realignment of how I wish to engage with others and conduct my relationships.

So in short, while I’ve felt inspired to write, it has been for myself, in my tiny, trusty journal. There has all been positive but I’ve needed to do some processing and digesting which hasn’t left much room for me to write here. I’ve just needed some recluse time. And now I’m back, ready to reconnect and share with you all again 🙂

I made this delicious pea pesto pasta (aka the Triple P-asta) the other day for a dear friend for a birthday party by Karkloof Waterfalls. It went down well, and I know that because I must have eaten 87% of it. Not sure why no one else got involved – maybe I ate it before they had a chance…? My bad.

It’s super protein-rich, high in fibre and packed with good fats. We’ve got peas, almonds, sprouts and red lentil pasta (I used Happy Earth People – always) and avocado and rocket – all great ingredients for who are active and who need some extra need both boosting and recovery foods.

It is super easy to whip up and you can use this pesto on bread, as a dip, in a nourish bowl or mixed into a pasta. Feel free to throw in your preferred toppings – maybe you want to add in olives, artichokes, capers or mushrooms or even some vegan meat replacements. I think Fry’s Chicken-Style Strips will go down really well with this too. Enjoy it with cold or warm pasta, by the sea, on a hike, as a work lunch or comforting dinner.

Serves: 4 rad people (or 1 rad person for a few meals)

Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 8 minutes

For the pesto

• 2 cups peas (thawed if frozen)
• 1 cup fresh basil
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup almonds, chopped
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 lemon, squeezed
• 1/2 avocado
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tbsp chili flakes
• 1tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper

To serve

• 250g of your favourite pasta (I used a mixture of Happy Earth People’s red lentil pasta for the extra protein with some normal fusilli pasta for some texture)
• A handful of sundried tomatoes, chopped
• A handful of fresh, cherry tomatoes, sliced
• A handful of sprouts
• 3 tbsp chopped almonds
• Fresh rocket (as much as you want)

Method

1. To make the pesto, combine all the ingredients in a food processor or blender. Keep blending until smooth, scraping down the sides a few times to ensure the all the ingredients are well combined.
2. Cook the pasta according to the packaging instructions.
3. Add the pesto to the pasta and mix it all together. Top with sundried tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, sprouts, almonds and rocket. Mix again. Add more salt and pepper, chilli flakes and olive oil if desired.
4. If there are any leftovers, this salad will certainly keep for another day – you must just have to add extra lemon juice or olive oil and give it a good tossin’.