Spring Pea-sto With Penne

salt
1 lb penne pasta
1 pkg frozen peas, defrosted
1/4 cup lightly toasted pine nuts
1 cup packed basil leaves
6 to 8 sprigs fresh tarragon, leaves stripped
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano, plus more for serving
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper

1) Bring a large pot of water up to a boil then season water with salt and cook penne to al dente. Heads up: you will need to reserve 1 or 2 ladles of starchy cooking water, 1/2 to 3/4 cup, before draining the pasta.
2) Place 1/2 of the peas in the bottom of a large serving dish. Place the rest of the peas in a food processor with the pine nuts, basil, tarragon leaves, cheese and olive oil. Add a little salt and pepper, then process the pesto into rough paste, adjust seasonings.
3) Pour starchy water over peas in bowl then add pesto. Pour hot, drained pasta over the pesto and toss vigorously to coat and combine. Adjust seasoning and serve, passing extra cheese at the table.

Review: I never have time to defrost my frozen veggies. So, after I toasted the pine nuts, I tossed the peas into the warm skillet and they defrosted pretty quickly! This was so yummy, I couldn’t believe it. It had the traditional pesto taste, but the added sweetness of the peas was a welcome addition. I’ll definitely make this again!