Salad of Green and Yellow Split Peas with Pesto

Large bed of leafy lettuce leaves
1 cup dried green split peas
1 cup dried yellow split peas
1 bunch of sliced scallions to garnish

For the Pesto:

1 cup packed basil leaves
1/4 cup packed Italian leaf parsley
3 cloves garlic, smashed
1/4 cup grated parmesan or grana padano cheese
1/4 cup walnut halves, toasted and roughly chopped
1/3 – 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, or more
sprinkle of hot pepper flakes
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

To cook the Split Peas:

Rinse the peas and place in a large saucepan.  Cover with salted water, making sure that about two inches of water are above the peas.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a medium/low.  Cook for about 25 minutes, then begin testing them for doneness.  You may need to cook them longer, depending upon how high your heat was.  You will want them to be soft, but retain their shape.  Be careful not to overcook them, or they will turn to mush.  When done, drain the water and let cool.

To make the Pesto:

As I stated above, you can choose to blanch the greens or not, depending upon how fast you’re going to use the pesto.  You decide.  Place either the blanched or unblanched basil and parsley into a small food processor (use a large one, if making a bigger batch).  Pulse a few times to chop up a bit.  Add the parmesan, walnuts, garlic, red pepper flakes, and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Pulse a couple more times to combine.  With the machine running on low, slowly begin adding the olive oil.  Scrape down the sides, as necessary.  Add as much olive oil to reach your desired consistency.  Or, add a few tablespoons of water at the very end to loosen it up a bit.  Re-season with salt and pepper.  Use right away, or place in the refrigerator with plastic wrap tightly pushed onto it’s surface, or freeze.

Place the lettuce leave onto a large platter.

Mix the cooled split peas with about 1/3 cup of the pesto, use more if desired.  Add salt and pepper, if needed.  Pour mixture over the lettuce, top with sliced scallions, and a drizzle of good olive oil.

Enjoy!



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