Guess what I felt like doing yesterday evening after a long weekend of drinking beer and eating nothing but crap? NOT COOKING! But too bad! I had a family with hungry tummies and my body was depleted of any actual nutrients (unless you count beer as a nutrient) so I needed something healthy, quick and delicious.
I got REALLY excited when I saw that whole foods had a large bin of fresh english peas in the produce section. English peas in the pod are cheap and one of the most delicious spring vegetables you could possibly ever dream of. I think the bins are always full because people are intimidated by the look of the big ugly green pod. Its simple. A) Open pod over a bowl (like a little present every time you open one!) B) REMOVE PEAS (and try not to eat all of them before they make it to the food processor). Yea, that's all folks. Simple and totally worth every second of hard labor.
Here is what you need. It will take about 20 minutes or less to to make this meal.
2 ears of fresh sweet corn (shuck & cut the raw kernels from the cob. I do it in a large bowl so the corn doesn't fly everywhere)
1 lb english pea pods (see above for pea removal instruction)
1/2 lb angel hair pasta
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon grated parmesan
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
a few lemon wedges
a few handfuls of grape tomato cut into wedges
Put a large pot of salted water on the stove top and bring to a boil. While waiting for it to boil, make your pea pesto. Very simple. In a food processor pour your raw peas into it and add salt, pepper, a few squeezes of lemon juice (about 1/2 tablespoon) and grated cheese. Pulse the peas until they are somewhat smooth. Add the oil and blend until very smooth. Taste to see if it needs more salt, pepper or lemon.
Boil angel hair pasta for about 3-4 minutes before adding your raw corn to the water to cook along with the pasta. Once you add the corn, cook until pasta is al dente (has a slight bite to it and not mushy). While the pasta is cooking, slice your tomatoes and spoon the pesto into a large bowl along with your tomatoes.
Drain your pasta (DO NOT RINSE YOUR PASTA WITH WATER! Your pasta will not soak up the flavor of the pesto if you rinse the starches from it). Dump the corn and pasta on top of the pesto and let it warm the pesto for 1 minute before tossing everything together with tongs.
Taste it after you've mixed it well to see if it needs any additional seasoning. When serving, squeeze a little more lemon juice on the dish and some more grated cheese. Such a gorgeous, EASY light dinner!
