I popped into my favourite Asian shop in town bought approximately 15,000 tonnes of fresh herbs last weekend and with some mint still to use up, I decided a pasta and pea combination was in order. I did not, however, wish to have the mint completely overpower the dish, hence an addition of basil and rocket (arugula). The lemon juice and red wine vinegar add a nice tartness to the overall flavour, also mellowing the mint a tad bit.
It's hard to fail with pasta
"It's good, but pasta and peas...?" my husband mused as we both excitedly tried to stuff our tortiglioni pasta with as many peas as would fit. Thus two things dawned on me, the first being that outside of Italy I think everything assumes a pasta dish should always involved tomatoes. The second realisation to hit me was that yes, this is dish just begs for both adults and children to play with their food.
I can think of worse things than kids fighting over who can fit the most peas in a piece of pasta and eat it before the other.
This refreshing and healthy vegan pasta dish serves two as a hot main, but I would seriously consider it as a side salad-y type thing for a picnic basket!
Summer Pasta with Minted Peas and Basil
- Directions/Method
- Chop all of the herbs and leaves, keeping the arugula separate from the mint and basil combination. Set aside.
- Cook the peas and pasta separately. The peas will finish before the pasta and when they do, drain them and cook over a low heat with 1 tablespoon of the oil, along with the chopped mint and basil.
- When the pasta is cooked to your liking, drain and toss well with the pea mixture and the rest of the ingredients (plus salt and pepper to taste). Add the lemon juice and red wine vinegar last and serve warm or cold (this would make a lovely cold pasta salad picnic dish).