Turn Peas Into A Flavor-Packed Side Dish With 2 Italian Ingredients

It's incredible what you can do with the simple, little green pea. Peas are the perfect complement for rich pasta sauces, for example. You can even hold the noodles and still give peas the Italian treatment by joining them with a bit of pesto and some parmesan cheese. It only takes a few moments to turn this tiny, mighty veg into a tasty side for whatever else is on your dinner table.

Peas are among the sweetest botanicals in the garden. The fresh burst of basil and the pungent garlic present in most pesto preparations provide a lovely contrast to the natural sugars that would risk coming across as cloying in other recipes. Pesto's typical pine nuts also add a nice texture to a plant that some folks find too mushy. A little extra parm on top of what's usually already in pesto further ties it all together with a bit of decadence. Just make sure to pick the right peas, and cook them carefully.

While the cans of peas in your pantry certainly have their place, such as in creamed peas, a classic Southern side, the tinned stuff is actually too creamy for this pesto-and-parm application. You need the firmer consistency you get from fresh or frozen peas. Even some celebrity chefs, including Bobby Flay, prefer frozen peas to fresh, so take this as an opportunity to use any bags you've otherwise left to gather frost. 

Either way, cook them just barely enough to stave off any unintended squishiness. Think of it more as warming the peas than, say, boiling or sauteing them. Work the fresh or thawed peas around a pan with a dash of oil or butter over low heat for a few minutes, until they reach a pleasant temperature when you taste one. You can then stir in about 1 tablespoon of pesto per 1 cup of peas, and shower it all with grated parm to taste right before removing from the heat for a particularly big, bursting take on the petite ingredient.