In this pasta and pea recipe we’ve turned them into a delicious pea pesto sauce, and served them up with fun pasta shells. We’ve used some mint leaves, olive oil and Parmesan cheese to give it extra flavour. Rather than using pine nuts that traditionally go into pesto we chose to use sunflower seeds, to give the sauce that added nuttiness.
Summary
Prep: 5 minutes
Cooking: 10 minutes
Ages: Toddlers to Teens
Difficulty: Easypeasy
Makes: 4 small bowls
Can babies eat pasta and pea pesto?
This pea pesto sauce is made with a few simple ingredients that makes it a great weaning recipe. However we do recommend it for babies that have tried these ingredients at least once.
So for example we would recommend that they have eaten some peas, mint, cheese and sunflower seeds, before you combine them all into our pea pesto sauce for their dinner.
Otherwise it’s a fabulously tasty little dish that can be enjoyed both by baby as one of their first ‘dinners’ and by the whole family.
Ingredients
Pea pesto
- 3 cups pasta shells (210 grams)
- ¾ cup frozen peas (100 grams)
- 4 mint leaves
- ¼ garlic clove, small
- 15 grams Parmesan cheese
- 1½ tablespoons sunflower seeds (12 grams)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil (50 mls)
- ¼ cup water – add 1 tablespoon at a time
Instructions
- Boil the pasta shells in a saucepan of water for 5-10 minutes or as per the instructions on the packet. Drain and empty into a bowl for serving.
- In the meantime, place the peas and mint leaves in another saucepan of boiling water. Simmer for 5 minutes or until the peas are cooked through.
- Drain the peas and mint and place them in a small blender with the garlic, Parmesan cheese, sunflower seeds and olive oil.
- Blend until it makes a smooth paste.
- Add your water one tablespoon at a time to reach your desired consistency for your pea pesto sauce.
- Serve over the cooked pasta shells and with some extra grated Parmesan cheese for a tasty meal.
Pasta and pea pesto – our step by step guide:
Boil your pasta shells
Place your pasta shells in a saucepan of boiling water and simmer for 5-10 minutes until cooked through.
Drain your pasta and place it in a bowl ready for serving.
Boil your peas and mint
Place your frozen peas and mint leaves in another saucepan and bring to the boil for 5 minutes or until cooked through.
Add all the ingredients to the blender
Drain the peas and mint leaves and put them in a small blender.
Add the garlic, Parmesan, sunflower seeds and olive oil. Blend until smooth.
Take your water and add it 1 tablespoon at a time to the sauce until you’ve reached your desired consistency. It should be a thick liquid paste.
Spoon your pea pesto into a bowl
When you’ve reached your desired consistency spoon the pea pesto into a bowl, ready to serve.
Serve on pasta shells with grated cheese
Serve your pea pesto sauce over pasta shells with some added grated cheese for a delicious weaning recipe or family meal.
You can also serve this pea pesto as a dip with some carrot and cucumber sticks.
Pasta and pea pesto
Ingredients
- 3 cups dried pasta shells (210 grams)
- ¾ cup frozen peas (100 grams)
- 4 mint leaves
- ¼ garlic clove small
- 15 grams Parmesan cheese
- 1½ tbsp sunflower seeds (12 grams)
- 3 tbsp olive oil (50 mls)
- ¼ cup water add 1 tablespoon at a time
Instructions
-
Boil the pasta shells in a saucepan of water for 5-10 minutes or as per the instructions on the packet. Drain and empty into a bowl for serving.
-
In the meantime, place the peas and mint leaves in another saucepan of boiling water. Simmer for 5 minutes or until the peas are cooked through.
-
Drain the peas and mint and place them in a small blender with the garlic, Parmesan cheese, sunflower seeds and olive oil.
-
Blend until it makes a smooth paste.
-
Add your water one tablespoon at a time to reach your desired consistency for your pea pesto sauce.
-
Serve over the cooked pasta shells and with some extra grated Parmesan cheese for a tasty meal.
