Pasta with Pecan Pesto Peas and Tomatoes

Once again, a successful pasta dish made great with nuts.  Its funny because I was never one to eat a lot of nuts, didnt necessarily like them, thought they were fattening, made me thirsty, but now when I use them as ingredients, I love them.  I talk about the health aspect them all the time.  Nuts a
are high in protein which is a building block to our bodies, they are a monosaturated fat which makes them very heart healthy, they also contain selenium which acts as an antioxident and not to mention they are high in fiber.  The dish also contains tomatoes that are high in lycopene, infact tomatos provide the most concentrated amount of lycopenes of any food.  The major claim of lycopenes is its prevention and treatment of cancers of the lung, prostate, stomach, bladder, cervix, and skin.  Lycopene is a powerful antioxident, a compound that blocks the action of free radicals.                                                                                                                                       
In this recipe I use peas to give the pesto a base and an added creaminess, but mushrooms could be used as well.
The entire meal can be made in as quick as noodles can be boiled.

ingredients
12 ounces pasta
2 cups(1 can peas)
1/4 cup pecans
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/4 cup parm cheese
1 cup diced tomato



Boil noodles according to instruction
in food processor combine 1 cup peas, pecans, olive oil, garlic powder, parm cheese
process the mixture until finely chopped
when pasta boiled, leave 1/2 pasta water reserve
add water to pesto and pulse one more time until pesto creamy
in large skillet, on low heat, combine pasta, pesto toss in diced tomatoes and remaining peas,saute for  a few minutes
remove from heat, and top with cheese