Saturday, July 11, 2009

Spring Peas and Potatoes in Basil Pesto

I live in Brentwood, in the East Bay.  I didn’t realize it 12 years ago, but there are tons of fruit and vegetable stands out here.  A farmer’s market popped up a few years ago, and it’s turning out to be a great place to spend my Saturday mornings.  I just hope at some point it goes year round.  


This morning I perused the stalls for my veggies and weekly basil focaccia bread, which is my daughter’s favorite thing under the sun.  After picking up some tiny baby white potatoes (Yukon Gold, I think), some fresh spring peas, basil, and a loaf of Greenlee’s sinfully delicious Best Cinnamon Bread, which is sliced way too thin, in my opinion, we finally headed home to make way for the Corn Fest goers.


Lunch time was here before I knew it, so I shelled my beautiful spring peas while watching Royal Pains on Hulu.com.  (I love the internet!)  Anyway, I cut up the potatoes and boiled them with the peas for about ten minutes and then tossed them with my version of basil pesto.  It was delicious.  There’s nothing like eating a meal with veggies that have been harvested within the last couple of days.


Here’s my basil pesto recipe:


a big bunch of washed basil, stems removed

1 very small garlic clove (more if you like the raw garlic flavor)

a big handful of toasted pine nuts

a couple of heaping tablespoons of nutritional yeast

salt and pepper

olive oil and veggie stock, equal amounts


So, put all the dry ingredients into a food processor and, as it’s doing it’s thing, add the oil and stock, alternating between the two.  The consistency depends on the amount of liquid you add.  If you want a spread, add less liquid.  If you want a dressing, add more.  


If you don’t have basil, you can really use any green leafy veg, although basil has a very distinct flavor that I just love.  A peppery arugula would work well and so would fresh spinach.  You could use a blender if you don’t have a food processor.


So, there you have it.  A fast meal that’s good for you and super easy to make with fresh local ingredients from Brentwood’s finest!  Scrum-diddly!

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