Pasta with Garlic Scapes and Peas

I've known my husband since Culture Club was number one on the charts, and yet this whole time he carefully kept a secret from me that he recently revealed: he doesn't like peas. He will eat them, but he would prefer they not be on his plate. Hmmm...That revelation made this dish harder to carry out, but it was entirely successful--and yet so different from the original recipe that I'm going to post my own version.

Claire agreed to make this dish when I told her it involved pasta, pesto, and peas. Unlike her father, Claire adores peas. She eats them frozen from the bag--often a very large bag a week. But this time, in honor of spring, I had bought shell peas, so we shelled them and discussed our strategy for adapting the recipe.

The clue came in some creative reading I'd done with the recipe: I somehow understood that Melissa had mixed the peas and ricotta in with the pesto. Given that Sami admitted to liking split pea soup, we decided that if we puréed the peas, they would be less objectionable. So after being blanched, they went into the pesto after these delicious and expensive pine nuts that I almost burned.

Big dollops of goat's milk ricotta, and the dish was finished. It's a beautiful spring green color, and it tastes really, really good. I've seen recipes for "peacamole" that you can spread on crackers, and this "pea-sto" (that's for you, Sharmyn) would also be a great spread/dip. 

So here's my version of Melissa Clark's recipe for people who have no access to garlic scapes and who have family members who are pea-shy. You won't regret it.

About 1-1/2 cups freshly shelled (or frozen) peas

1/3 c. grated Parmesan

2 green onion tops, coarsely chopped

1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped

1 bunch basil, leaves torn from stems

1/4 c. pine nuts, carefully toasted (watch out: pine nuts go from white to burned in seconds)

1/3 c. olive oil

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 lb. pasta--your choice. I used fresh fettuccine.

Ricotta or other creamy cheese of your liking

Freshly ground pepper

More grated Parmesan

In a large pot, bring some well-salted water to a boil. Add the peas and let cook for 2-3 minutes. Scoop out the peas with a large slotted spoon. Depending on the type of pasta you're using, add it to the boiling water now and let it cook while you make the pesto (if you're using a quick-cooking pasta like fresh fettuccine or angel hair, you might want to make the pesto first).

In a food processor, grind together the Parmesan, green onions, garlic, and basil. Add the pine nuts, oil, and peas and process until creamy. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and lemon juice.

When the pasta is done, scoop out about 1/2 cup of the pasta water before draining the pasta. Mix the pasta with the pesto. Serve topped with ricotta, pepper, and/or grated Parmesan.