Pasta with Peas, Mint and Feta

This is yet another recipe where you can stretch some pantry and frozen foods to make a tasty dish. I like this pasta because it tastes so fresh and light thanks to the lemon, mint and feta. If you don’t have fresh mint on add, substitute with any dried herb of your liking. If you don’t have feta, try any other cheese or top with nutritional yeast.

Ingredients:

3 cups dried short pasta (I used gluten free fusilli)

1 cup frozen peas

5-6 fresh mint leaves, chopped

Zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon

1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast

1/4 cup crumbled feta

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

Instructions:

Start by cooking the pasta in boiling, salted water. My pasta takes 8 minutes to cook.

In the 8 minutes you have to wait for the pasta, add 3/4 cup of your frozen peas to a dish and then ladle in some of your boiling pasta water. This will quickly cook the peas. Drain the peas after about 5 minutes (they take no time to cook) and then add your mint, nutritional yeast, lemon zest, lemon juice, some salt and pepper. Use an immersion blender (or fork?) to mash up the pea mixture.

When your pasta is done cooking, drain it and return it to your pot on the stove (lower the heat to low). Add some olive oil, your pea mixture, and your remaining 1/4 cup of frozen peas. Toss the pasta for 2-3 minutes until the frozen peas are warmed through. If your pasta seems dry, you can add more olive oil or a bit of your pasta water if you reserved it.

Add your pasta to a bowl and top with crumbed feta and an extra crack of black pepper. That’s it! Super easy. This recipe makes 2 servings but you can double the recipe for a whole family. My spouse HATES peas so I plan to enjoy my leftovers with a side of baked haddock.