Pea Basil Pesto with Toasted Seeds

Peas is one of the ingredients that I like to always have in my freezer. It gets me out of trouble, whether to add at the last minute to any preparation or to be one of the main ingredients in a recipe like today's. I love this pesto-like sauce because I can serve it with pasta, add it as a dressing for a potato salad, to accompany a chicken or even to spread on a sourdough toast as I did with what I had left over from this recipe. Best of all, this sauce keeps perfectly when frozen and thawed. I put the leftovers in a glass jar, added a little olive oil on top and froze it. Four weeks later it got me out of trouble. I took it out of the freezer the night before, the next day my daughter ate it with lentil pasta and I made myself some toast. I toasted the bread, spread the pesto on it and added cottage cheese, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.

FYI: whatever preparation you decide to freeze in a glass jar, don't fill it more than ¾ of its capacity otherwise it will explode in the freezer.

Makes: 3 to 4 cups Prep time: 20 mins Cooking time: 3 mins Total time: 20 to 30 mins

Ingredients:

10 oz bag of fresh or frozen peas

4 oz pack fresh basil

2 garlic cloves

Extra virgin olive oil + garnish

1 lemon juice + zest

Parmesan cheese + garnish

¼ cup toasted sunflower seeds and pepitas + garnish

Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Pick the basil leaves

2. Set up a bowl with ice and cold water

3. Blanch the peas and basil:

   1. Cook peas in a boiling salt water for about 60 to 90 seconds

   2. Add the basil leaves and cook for 10 seconds

   3. Drain the water

   4. Transfer the drained peas and basil to the iced water bowl

   5. Drain water and ice

   6. Pat dry the excess of water

4. Add the peas, basil and the rest of the ingredients to a blender

5. Blend until you obtain a chunky smooth pesto

6. Taste for salt, pepper and fix to your taste

7. If you like a little bit spicy add some chili flakes

8. Boil some pasta and serve!

Thawed Leftovers