Pea-Sunflower Seed Pesto

I realized that I'm a food geek when I came up with this dairy,

egg and nut-free pesto recipe.

I used to love pesto pasta salad and thought I'd never be able to eat pesto again, but I was up for the challenge. I used familiar flavors of basil, garlic and lemon, but added peas and sunflower seeds to give it the texture of a traditional pesto. The secret ingredient is flat leaf parsley, that adds a nice underlying flavor. The result is a thick pesto that can be used as a spread, dip or served over hot pasta with a little pasta water added to thin it out.

Pesto:

2 c. frozen peas

1 handful basil leaves (about 12 leaves)

1 handful of flat leaf parsley (about 5 stems)

2 Tbsp. David's roasted & salted sunflower seeds

1 small garlic clove, sliced

1/2 tsp. lemon zest

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. salt

about 3 Tbsp. olive oil

Steam the peas for about 8 minutes, so they are soft, but still bright green. Cool under running cold water and let drain.

In a food processor combine peas, basil, parsley, sunflower seeds, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt.

Pulse until it everything is coarsely chopped.

With the blade running add the olive oil through the opening on the lid, one tablespoon at a time until the pesto has a creamy texture.

Voila!