Summer Pasta with Minted Peas and Basil

Kip — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:00:04 +0000

I popped into my favourite Asian shop in town bought approximately 15,000 tonnes of fresh herbs last weekend and with some mint still to use up, I decided a pasta and pea combination was in order. I did not, however, wish to have the mint completely overpower the dish, hence an addition of basil and rocket (arugula). The lemon juice and red wine vinegar add a nice tartness to the overall flavour, also mellowing the mint a tad bit.

It’s hard to fail with pasta

“It’s good, but pasta and peas…?” my husband mused as we both excitedly tried to stuff our tortiglioni pasta with as many peas as would fit. Thus two things dawned on me, the first being that outside of Italy I think everything assumes a pasta dish should always involved tomatoes. The second realisation to hit me was that yes, this is dish just begs for both adults and children to play with their food.

I can think of worse things than kids fighting over who can fit the most peas in a piece of pasta and eat it before the other.

This refreshing and healthy vegan pasta dish serves two as a hot main, but I would seriously consider it as a side salad-y type thing for a picnic basket!

Summer Pasta with Minted Peas and Basil

Serves two

Ingredients
- 275g pasta
- 1 cup frozen peas (give or take)
- 1/4 cup packed basil and mint mix (I went 50/50)
- 1/4 cup packed rocket (arugula)
- 1.5-2tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste

Directions/Method
1. Chop all of the herbs and leaves, keeping the arugula separate from the mint and basil combination. Set aside.
2. Cook the peas and pasta separately. The peas will finish before the pasta and when they do, drain them and cook over a low heat with 1 tbsp of the oil, along with the chopped mint and basil.
3. When the pasta is cooked to your liking, drain and toss well with the pea mixture and the rest of the ingredients (plus salt and pepper to taste). Add the lemon juice and red wine vinegar last and serve warm or cold (this would make a lovely cold pasta salad picnic dish).

Easy Peasy Lemon Cheesy!

Kip — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 19:45:05 +0000

It was one of those days that flew by and when I looked at the clock it was already dinner time. As a result I wanted to make something simple to eat, something along the lines of a protein and two-veg meal. We had some frozen minted peas (the only acceptable frozen vegetable in my opinion) and since I’m currently having a vegetarian love affair with the little greenies, they immediately jumped to the top of the dinner ingredient list. But I fancied something a little different than plain boiled peas, something with a little more flavour.

When I served these, my husband of course asked what was up with the peas. “Lemon and cheese,” I responded. He immediately broke out into giggles and questioned me.
“You’re kidding,” he said. “You did not just tell me you made cheesy peas!”

“And lemon,” I replied. “Don’t forget the lemon. Why?”

He laughed again and explained to me that a character on The Fast Show often referenced cheesy peas, citing them frequently in various situations (“You like Cheese!? You like Peas!? Then you’ll love Cheesy-Peas!!”)

I punched him in the face and told him to eat his vegetables.

Well, I told him to eat his vegetables anyway.

“Cheesy” Peas with Lemon

Makes two cups

Ingredients
- 2-3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup grated cheddar style vegan cheese
- 2 cups frozen minted peas
- Directions/Method
  1. Boil the peas until cooked and drain. Mix with lemon juice and cheese. Serve hot with, well, pretty much anything.

The Messy Vegetarian Cook » peas

Summer Pasta with Minted Peas and Basil

It’s hard to fail with pasta

Summer Pasta with Minted Peas and Basil

Easy Peasy Lemon Cheesy!

“Cheesy” Peas with Lemon