A lovely creamy summer salad. In a pinch, you could use frozen peas but fresh are certainly best!

Serves 5

For the Salad --->:

• 2 cups fresh English peas
• 2 ripe avocados, cubed
• 6-8 ounces mozzarella - preferably fresh but any mozzarella will do, cut into very small cubes
• zest of two lemons (use zester rather than microplane to create long strips for visual appeal)
• red pepper flakes, optional
• fresh mint sprigs, optional

For the Pesto --->:

• 2 big handfuls baby spinach leaves
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 1/2 big handfuls walnuts, toasted
• 1/4 cup freshly-grated Locatelli Romano cheese
• 4 shakes of the nutmeg shaker (or 6 scrapes of the grater)
• 1/3 cup Extra virgin olive oil (the most flavorful oil you have)
• 1/3 cup water
• salt, to taste

1. Combine peas, avocado and mozzarella in a medium bowl. Toss lightly being careful not to crush the cheese if you used fresh mozzarella. Throw the lemon zest in on top. Reserve a few strands to garnish the top.
2. After toasting the walnuts, add water, spinach, walnuts, romano cheese, lemon juice and nutmeg to blender. Turn on blender to blend and add a steady stream of olive oil as you blend until you have reached the desired consistency for your pesto. It will be creamy. Add salt to taste.
3. Spoon ½ of pesto into the bowl holding the pea mixture. Gently combine. Add pesto until you’ve reached the desired ratio (you may have leftover pesto -- all the better! It's yummy on pasta or ... well... just to eat with a spoon!). Scoop gently into serving bowl. Top with lemon zest and red pepper flakes. Garnish with a sprig of lovely mint leaves and walnut pieces if desired. A lovely summer salad or even something to scoop with Coco Pops as a snack.