How awesome does it feel when your family is excited about having leftovers for dinner?

It feels great to take a day off from cooking but still be able to serve up a delicious, healthy dish for dinner.  Yep, I’m totally on-board for eating leftovers.

I made this easy pasta dish the other day and served it as a weeknight dinner.  We all enjoyed our pasta bowls but there was still enough left for another serving.  Hurray for leftovers!  My husband actually preferred it the second night after the pesto sauce had time to build up it’s flavour.

I also love the beautiful presentation of this dish.  The bright red cherry tomatoes against the calming pea green creates a brilliant splash of contrast.

For the pesto, I used pine nuts.  For a different flavour you could even try almonds or walnuts.  I added a bunch of fresh basil and garlic for a flavour punch.  I ended up using a whole bag of fresh sweet peas.

I heated some sliced Prosciutto in the microwave for a few seconds to crisp it up.  My family LOVED this addition.

You can serve this pesto over traditional, rice, or almond flour pasta.  I’m sure it would be great over paleo pasta options like zucchini noodles.  Whichever way you decided to serve it, you’re in for one tasty and wholesome meal.

Garden Fresh Pesto Pasta

INGREDIENTS

• 400g fresh sweet peas, cooked as per instructions on bag*
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1/2 cup olive oil + 1 tbsp, divided
• 1 small bunch fresh basil
• 1 large garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 cup diced white onion
• Fresh cherry tomatoes
• Cooked, drained + chopped bacon/pancetta or chopped prosciutto
• Pinch sea salt
• Red pepper flakes to serve (optional)
• Pasta of choice, cooked as per instructions on bag/box

*I cooked the whole bag of sweet peas and added additional whole sweet peas to the final dish

METHOD

1. Combine the 400g of cooked sweet peas, pine nuts, 1/2 cup olive oil, fresh basil, diced garlic, onion powder and garlic powder into the base of a high powered blender.
2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat.  Once hot, add diced onion and salt and cook until soft and translucent.
3. Carefully add the onion mixture to the blender and process the pesto until smooth.
4. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta to desired level of doneness.  In the meantime, taste pesto and adjust seasonings if so desired.
5. Once cooked, drain pasta, reserving a small amount of cooking water and set aside.
6. To serve simply add desired amount of pesto to fresh cooked pasta, cherry tomatoes, additional sweet peas (optional) and chopped meat of choice. Toss well, adding a small amount of cooking liquid, if desired, to create a smooth, creamy texture.  Add a large pinch of red pepper flakes for some added heat (optional)
7. Dig in and enjoy!

Simple, healthy and a snap to prepare any night of the week.  What’s your take on leftovers? Love them or leave them?