Fettuccini with Pesto, Mushrooms and Peas

I have always been a fan of tomato based pasta sauces, but this time I decided to experiment a bit and to make a pesto sauce, and it turned out pretty good. The whole dish took less than 30 min with multitasking so it is perfect for making a quick dinner.

PESTO SAUSE:
In a food processor, combine and homogenize the following:

• 1-2 cups loose basil leaves + parseley leaves
• 1/2 cup walnuts (I did not have any pine nuts but Bitman says that walnuts are OK)
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• some salt

THE REST OF INGREDIENTS:
1 lb mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 cup frozen peas
2 (9 oz each) packs of fresh pasta

PROCESS:
In a large pan, add some olive oil and sautee the mushrooms on high heat until most of water has evaporated. Add the peas and onion, season with salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper and continue cooking until soft.

In the mean time, heat a pot of water and once boiling, add the fresh pasta. Let boil for 3-5 min or until cooked.

Once the pasta is ready, drain and mix with some of the pesto sauce and with the mushrooms.
Sprinkle some shredded pecorino romano cheese and enjoy!

Weeknight Pasta with Winter Greens and Mushrooms

Props to Marulka for giving me the recipe and guiding me through the execution :)!

This pasta recipe is very easy to cook and extremely versatile. Marulka and I cooked it with different kind of veggies and the result was always delightful. You can substitute the vegetables with whatever you have available at the moment, and add sausage, sea food, or chicken.
 Ingredients:

• Veggies - I used chard, kale, and mushrooms.
• Pasta - Rigatoni, Penne, or Fettuccine.
• 2 strips bacon, cut into small pieces
• 2 garlic cloves and 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Cheese - Le Gruyere and Parmesan 
• Black pepper and salt to taste

STEP 1: First wash the greens and mushrooms. Roughly chop the greens and quarter the mushrooms.

STEP 2: Grind a cup of each Gruyere and Parmesan cheeses.

STEP 3: In a skillet cook the bacon in the olive oil. Save some of the fats for the mushrooms. Then saute the onions and the garlic.

STEP 4: Start to boil the pasta, following the instructions on the package.
STEP 5:Saute the greens.

 STEP 6: Use halve of the bacon fat to brown the mushrooms in a large pan.

STEP 7: Add the sauteed greens to the pan with the mushrooms. Add the pasta and stir. Add the cheese and freshly ground black pepper.

STEP 8: Serve the pasta with sprinkled Parmesan on top, pour a glass of wine and ENJOY!