Pea and Avocado Penne

(Veggie Num Num)

This recipe is from Trudy of veggie.num.num via Meatless Monday. Sweet peas are mashed with avocado and toasted pine nuts for an untraditional, yet luxuriously creamy, pesto sauce. String beans, lima beans and penne round out this green-hued pasta to celebrate the coming of Spring.

Cook Time:15 min

Prep Time:10 min

Total Time:25 min

Servings: 6

Ingredients:

1 1/2 ounce pine nuts, toasted

2 cup baby peas, shelled

1 Avocado

2 Garlic cloves, diced

Lemon juice, to taste

2 cup Baby spinach, roughly chopped

2 tablespoon olive oil

10.5 ounce penne pasta, cooked according to package instructions

9 ounce green beans, trimmed

1 1/2 cup canned lima beans, drained and rinsed or 1 1/2 cups fresh lima beans, cooked

Preparation:

Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan over medium-high heat for 2-4 minutes, or until the pine nuts become fragrant. Set aside to cool.

Place about 3 cups of water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and cook the peas for 1-3 minutes, or until just tender. Strain, rinse and set aside.

When the pine nuts have cooled, reserve a few for garnish. Chop the rest roughly.

Place the avocado, pees, garlic, chopped pine nuts together in a large bowl. Drizzle with a few squeezes of lemon juice and mash with a fork until the pesto comes together, but still maintains some variety of texture. Stir in the chopped baby spinach and set aside.

Place fill a double boiler or steamer with water over medium-high heat. Add the green beans and steam for 3-4 minutes, or until just tender. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the steamed green beans and lima beans, toss to combine and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the cooked penne and mix until combined.

Reduce heart to low and add the pea and avocado pesto. Toss until the pesto is evenly distributed on throughout the penne, green beans and lima beans.

Divide the pasta into 6 portions and enjoy topped with the reserved pine nuts and a few extra baby spinach leaves.