Pesto Pasta with Lemon, Spinach, Edamame and Toasted Almonds
Leela Cyd Ross

 

Pesto Pasta with Lemon, Spinach, Edamame and Toasted Almonds

---

It won't be long before the season of picnics and outdoor dinners is upon us, and that calls for easy pasta recipes that everyone will enjoy. This dish is easy, healthy and very elegant.

In the height of summer, I love to make fresh pesto from the garden, but during the rest of the year I cheat a little with my favorite store-bought brand. Having a nice dollop of the verdant sauce on anything from homemade pizza or smeared onto a sandwich, it's the brightness and intensity of flavor that I crave! Pesto and pasta however, shine as companions above all other iterations.

This simple recipe came together one morning while I was scrounging around my fridge looking for something substantial to take to an afternoon picnic in the park. It's a great pasta dish because it doesn't really need refrigeration and it tastes great room temperature or cold. It's the quintessential al fresco dish, full of bright, bold notes -- from the squeeze of lemon, nuttiness of the pasta, toasty almond chunks and subtle toothsome bite of edamame. A bowl of this pasta, washed down with a glass of white wine or lemondade is just the thing to usher in the change of seasons.

Pesto Pasta with Lemon, Spinach, Edamame and Toasted Almonds

Serves 4 to 6.

8 ounces spaghetti

1/2 cup pesto

8 ounces spinach

2 cups edamame (shelled and shucked, the peas, not entire pods)

Juice from 2 lemons (plus fresh lemon wedges for serving)

3/4 cup almonds, crushed and lightly toasted

Heat a large pot of water to boiling, and cook pasta until al dente. Remove from water, strain and rinse with cold water. In a large bowl, stir pasta, pesto and spinach until combined (some spinach will wilt, some will stay firm -- this is a nice contrast of textures). Finally, stir in the edamame and squirt the lemon all over the finished dish. Reserve a few lemon slices for people to add more if they like. On a low heat, toast crushed almonds until just fragrant. Garnish pasta with the toasted almonds.

Pasta, Italian

 

 RSS    

 

MORE RECIPES:   More Recipes ... ALL RECIPES APPETIZERS SOUPS PASTA SALADS MAIN COURSES SEAFOOD CHICKEN PORK LAMB BEEF / VEAL VEGETARIAN SIDE DISHES DESSERT HEALTHY WOLFGANG PUCK

Recent Recipes

 

More Recipes

Pesto Pasta with Lemon, Spinach, Edamame and Toasted Almonds

Copyright © 2012 Tribune Media Services Inc.