Pea pesto pasta with crispy meat-free bacon recipe
Peas are whizzed together with pine nuts, lemon, herbs and garlic to make a delicious vegan pesto, that is then tossed through spaghetti and topped with crispy pieces of meat-free smoky bacon for a deliciously green dinner!
See method- Serves 4
- 20 mins to prepare and 20 mins to cook
- 461 calories / serving
- Dairy-free
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
- Healthy
Ingredients
- 250g frozen peas
- 300g spaghetti
- 30g pine nuts or flaked almonds
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 Tesco Plant Chef meat-free smoky rashers
- 1 small garlic clove, finely crushed
- 30g basil, stalks and leaves roughly chopped, saving a few leaves to garnish
- 15g flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
- zest and juice of 1 lemon
- wild rocket, to serve
Each serving contains
- Energy
- 1935kJ 461.0kcal
- Fat
- 16g
- Saturates
- 2g
- Salt
- 0.4g
- Sugars
- 6g
of the Reference intake
Carbohydrate 60.1gProtein 16.9gFibre 7.0g
Method
- Place the peas in a colander and pour over a kettle of freshly boiled water. Leave to stand for 5 mins to defrost.
- Bring a pan of water to the boil and cook the spaghetti according to packet instructions. Drain, reserving 50ml of the cooking water and return both to the pan.
- While the pasta cooks, toast the pine nuts in a frying pan set over a medium heat for 3-4 mins, tossing frequently, until golden. Set aside.
- Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in the frying pan and cook the meat-free rashers over a medium heat for 2-3 mins on either side until golden and crisp. Cool slightly, then roughly chop.
- Place 100g of the peas, 20g pine nuts, 1 tbsp olive oil, the garlic, basil, parsley, lemon zest and juice, and 50ml water in a food blender or mini chopper and blitz until smooth. Season to taste with freshly ground black pepper and a squeeze more lemon, if needed.
- Add the pesto, meat-free rashers, saving a little to garnish, and remaining 150g peas to the pasta and toss until evenly coated.
- Divide between four plates and garnish with the remaining nuts, meat-free rashers, basil and rocket. Serve immediately.
- Tip: Tackle food waste and swap the basil and parsley for any other soft herbs you may have in the fridge, such as tarragon and chives.
- See more Vegan recipes
