Garden Pesto Recipe

the whole veggie stand' in here!

The Whole Garden SIW Pesto:

Another pasta recipe- are you sick of them yet? I'm not. Quick, healthy and a crowd pleaser.. This recipe is totally improvised and you can make your own version- veggies can be substituted or elaborated on- depending on what you pick up at the stand. The goal is at least a 1/2 and 1/2 ratio or veggies to pasta :)

Serves 6-8 or more!

1 lb pasta (any kind will do)
1 large candy onion, chopped
3-4 garlic scapes
1 red pepper, chopped coarsely
3 zucchini/squash/pattypan, chopped coarsely
1 pint of grape tomatoes, halved
1 pint of peas, shelled (out of season now, but luckily I blanched and froze some!)
2-3 cobs of corn, kernels removed

Boil water for pasta. While it's heating up, begin to saute your veggies in some olive oil (in a large! skillet). Start with the onion and garlic scapes. After 5 min., add your pepper. I wait until the pasta goes in the water to begin cooking the zucchini. Ideally you've cut them pretty coarsely so they won't turn to mush in the process. Add tomatoes and season with salt and pep. 

Once the pasta is finished and drained. I stir a little butter in the hot empty pot to melt, add a few heaping tablespoons of pesto and mix it with the pasta. Then I add the peas and corn to the veggies (they only need a heat up, really). Add a glop of pesto to the veg and stir it alllllll together. You will find you've got a gigantic amount of veg and pesto pasta. This is excellent because you will love it. You can feed a crowd. You can have leftovers for days. You can eat it cold for lunch. 

Pesto Sauce:
(makes more than you'll use for this dish)

3 cups packed basil leaves (about 10 stems from that heavenly smelling black bucket at SIW)
2 or 3 large cloves of garlic, chopped roughly
1/2 cup pine nuts (I used walnuts)
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup parmesan cheese (I usually use pecorino romano)

Blend it all up in a food processor or blender. In my processor, I usually start with the garlic and nuts to get them agrindin'. Add the basil and whirl together. With the machine on, I drizzle in the olive oil and stop a few times to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Season with salt and pep; stir in the cheese. This will keep for a week or so in an airtight container in the fridge (or freeze!).