Peasto (Pea Pesto)

Sounds a bit unusual doesn’t it? Pea pesto.

Well it’s actually surprisingly tasty — and it even has a few health benefits that regular pesto doesn’t have. But I’ll talk more about that in a minute. First let me tell you how we came up with the idea in the first place.

I’ve talked previously on this blog about my deep affection for pesto — especially home made pesto. But it’s always nice to mix things up a little, so Trudy and I sometimes make variations of classic pesto by using other types of nuts instead of pine nuts (such as cashews or walnuts), or other herbs instead of basil (such as flat-leaf parsley or cilantro), or by adding other ingredients to the base recipe (such as sun-dried tomatoes or olives).

But never before have we added peas to our pesto. What actually gave me the idea was that years ago Trudy had shown me a guacamole recipe in a food magazine that used a mixture of peas and avocado to reduce the calories and up the protein and fiber content. Even though we didn’t end up making the recipe, for some reason the whole idea of using peas this way stuck in my head.

Anyway fast forward to last week, and we were making a decision about what to have for dinner. We often have our meals for the week planned out in advance, but sometimes we just fly by the seat of our pants and rely on whatever ingredients we’ve got on hand in the pantry and refrigerator. (Luckily we’ve always got a well-stocked MediterrAsian pantry.)

We were both really in the mood for pesto, and we had most of the ingredients needed: pine nuts, Parmesan, garlic and extra virgin olive oil. But we didn’t have any fresh basil.

However, as I mentioned, it’s easy to make tasty variations of pesto by using different herbs — and we’ve found that flat-leaf parsley works especially well as a replacement for basil. Luckily, flat-leaf parsley grows like a weed in our garden, so it was no problem just picking some and using that.

But we’d done that a few times before, so we really wanted to try something different. That’s when the whole pea and avocado guacamole idea came into my head. “If peas can be used in a green sauce like guacamole,” I thought, “why couldn’t they be used the same way in pesto?”

Green peas are sweet and juicy as well, so I thought they’d add a unique character to the pesto. When I also worked out in my head that this concoction could be called “peasto” (pronounced pee-stow), the deal was sealed — we had to make it!

So we decided we’d use a combination of green peas and parsley, and also a little bit of mint (which also grows profusely in our garden) because it goes so naturally well with peas.

After we blended it up we were impressed with how vibrantly green it looked. Then we tossed it with fusilli pasta, chunks of canned tuna and some roasted red pepper. It tasted really good, although fairly different in texture and consistency compared to regular pesto because of the high water content of the peas. But we actually quite liked that. In fact we had the rest of the pesto the next night tossed with spaghetti, zucchini and a little diced bacon. (The smokiness of the bacon worked particularly well with the peas.)

The peas don’t just reduce the amount of calories in this pesto (1 cup of peasto contains around a third less calories than a cup of regular pesto), they also add a whole lot of nutrients. Peas are a terrific source of plant protein, and contain many healthy-giving vitamins and minerals including vitamin C, folate, iron and potassium. And peas are a very good source of dietary fiber, which helps keep you regular, reduces the risk of heart disease and some forms of cancer, and also fills you up without filling you out.

Peasto

Makes 1 1/4 cups (enough to serve 4)

• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 1/2 cup packed flat-leaf parsley
• 4 fresh mint leaves
• 1/3 cup pine nuts - lightly toasted
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 cloves garlic — roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

POUR boiling water over the peas and stand for 2 minutes, then drain. PLACE the peas, parsley, mint, pine nuts, parmesan, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a food processor and drizzle in the olive oil as you blend until well combined.

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Feta & White Bean Dip

Posted by Ric in Mediterranean recipes, Sauces & dips. August 27, 2008

I adore cheese in more ways than can be counted. There’s something about the creaminess and the “mouth feel” of real full-fat cheese that I find purely addictive. Cheese also has a magical ability to add multiple dimensions of flavor to food from pasta dishes to bakes and risottos.

But isn’t eating full-fat cheese bad for me? Well, no, actually. For thousands of years people throughout the Mediterranean region have been enjoying full-fat dairy foods like cheese and yogurt, yet rates of heart disease are traditionally very low.

The main reason is because dairy foods have never been eaten in great quantities. A common trait in cooking throughout the Mediterranean region is that the flavor of the food should shine through. Instead of drowning food in cheese, for example, it’s used sparingly and often it will be a full-flavored cheese like Parmesan, where a little goes a long way.

Other diary foods like milk, butter and cream have rarely been consumed in Mediterranean populations because these foods easily spoiled in the warm Mediterranean climate in the days before refrigeration (so the milk was turned into cheese and yogurt to help preserve it).

And that’s pretty much how Trudy and I enjoy dairy foods too. We eat full-fat cheese and yogurt regularly, but in small amounts. This way, we get the satisfaction of eating real food, while only consuming small amounts of saturated fat.

Now on to the recipe, and I’m sure you won’t be surprised to learn that it contains cheese! One of my favorite cheeses actually, feta. I’m a huge fan of Greek food, and part of the reason is because I love feta so much. Its crumbly yet creamy texture makes it such a unique cheese — and it also happens to be lower in saturated fat than most full-fat cheeses.

This feta and white bean dip is velvety smooth, and ridiculously creamy. In fact you’d never know it contains white beans at all because its texture is similar to cream cheese. Yet the white beans add lots of fiber, protein and goodness.

You can use this dip for dipping (of course), or it makes a great spread on top of bruschetta or whole grain crackers. When you combine it with fresh, crisp salad vegetables it also makes a great filling for sandwiches and wraps.

Feta & White Bean Dip

A creamy combination of feta cheese and white beans with herbs and a hint of garlic and lemon.

Makes 1 1/2 cups

• 7 oz (200g) feta cheese
• 1 cup canned white beans (such as cannellini) - rinsed and drained
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic - minced
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons water

PLACE all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.