This recipe from our spring vegetable correspondent is super versatile — you can use it as a pasta sauce or veggie dip — and it can be made in minutes.
There are still boxes upon boxes of beets, carrots, and potatoes, but pots of those green and tender shoots are like a beacon of light on that farmer's stand. Their little curls hold the promise of real-deal spring (and the actual peas that are soon to come).
Pea shoots are lightly sweet and, you guessed it, kinda taste like fresh peas, but in a more concentrated and grassy sort of way. I generally eat them all tangled up in a salad or lightly sautéed with some other vegetables and brown rice. I knew their natural sweetness would be delicious in a punchy pesto though. Most people are familiar with the traditional basil, Parmesan and pine nut variety, but any leaf or stem can be pesto if you Just Believe.
When I'm making vegan pesto, I generally reach for toasted walnuts as the base because they seem to have a richer and fattier character that mimics the Parmesan in traditional pesto. I go a bit heavier with the salt and add a bit of extra olive oil. I mixed the pea shoots with some fresh mint, just for that really fresh vibe.
Here's what you need to make the pesto:
Walnuts, pea shoots, olive oil, mint, and garlic.
Laura Wright
First, put walnuts and garlic cloves into a food processor and pulse until everything is finely chopped.
Laura Wright
