Spaghetti with watercress and pea pesto recipe
This vibrant spaghetti recipe takes classic pasta and pesto up a notch. Homemade pesto is easy to blitz together in minutes – this veggie twist uses peas and peppery watercress and the dish is topped with an oozy poached egg.
See method- Serves 4
- 10 mins to prepare and 15 mins to cook
- 646 calories / serving
Ingredients
- 300g frozen peas
- 2 garlic cloves
- 85g bag watercress
- 2 tbsp hazelnuts, toasted
- 50g vegetarian hard cheese or Parmesan, grated, plus extra to serve
- 60ml olive oil
- 350g wholemeal spaghetti
- 4 eggs
Each serving contains
- Energy
- 2710kJ 646.0kcal
- Fat
- 32g
- Saturates
- 7g
- Salt
- 1.0g
- Sugars
- 8g
of the Reference intake
Carbohydrate 66.7gProtein 28.2gFibre 14.4g
Method
- Bring a small pan of water to a simmer and add the peas and garlic. Blanch for 3 mins, then drain.
- In a food processor, blitz together the peas and garlic, most of the watercress (reserving a few leaves for garnish), hazelnuts and cheese to a thick paste. Drizzle in the olive oil while continuing to pulse until the pesto is smooth and creamy. Season to taste.
- Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti to pack instructions, then drain, reserving 1 tbsp cooking water. Allow to steam-dry for 1 min, then transfer to a large serving bowl. Cover with clingfilm.
- Refill the pan with water and bring to a simmer. Make a whirlpool in the centre by stirring rapidly with the handle of a wooden spoon. When the whirlpool has almost completely subsided, crack the eggs directly into it. Poach the eggs for 3 mins over a gentle heat, then transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon.
- Toss the pesto through the spaghetti with the reserved cooking water, then divide between 4 bowls or plates. Top with a poached egg, the reserved watercress, extra grated cheese and some black pepper.
- See more Pasta recipes
