Ingredients

• 2 cups frozen peas, thawed
• ½ cup loosely packed mint or basil leaves (see notes)
• ¾ cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving if desired
• ½ cup toasted pine nuts
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 2–3 cloves garlic
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, or to taste
• Fresh lemon juice, to taste

Instructions

1. Pulse the dry ingredients. In a food processor, combine peas, mint, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts, salt, and garlic and pulse until all ingredients are very finely chopped.

2. Add the oil. With the food processor on high speed, drizzle in the olive oil until pesto is smooth and creamy, adding more oil to reach desired consistency if needed. Remove the lid; season with additional salt and a squeeze or two of fresh lemon to taste.

3. To serve over pasta: Cook 16-ounces pasta to desired tenderness in generously salted water, reserving 1 cup pasta water. Combine the cooked pasta and about 1 cup of pesto to the pot. Stir to coat the pasta, adding reserved pasta water ¼ cup at a time to thin as needed. For extra veggies, add another 1 cup of defrosted peas to the pot. Serve immediately with shaved or grated Parmesan, torn mint and/or basil, flaky sea salt and freshly ground pepper.