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Spaghetti with watercress and pea pesto recipe

Spaghetti with watercress and pea pesto recipe

8 ratings

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
  • Vegetarian

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
If you haven't got spaghetti, try using linguine instead

Each serving contains

  • Energy

    2710kj
    646kcal
    32%
  • Fat

    32g 45%
  • Saturates

    7g 35%
  • Sugars

    8g 9%
  • Salt

    1g 16%

of the reference intake
Carbohydrate 66.7g Protein 28.2g Fibre 14.4g

Method

  1. Bring a small pan of water to a simmer and add the peas and garlic. Blanch for 3 mins, then drain.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.

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