Soba Noodles w/ Parsley Pesto
Enjoy pesto? Try this parsley pesto recipe instead of traditional basil. It’s wonderful and fragrant on noodles or pasta. 
Parsley Pesto Recipe with Soba Noodles
Margaret Roach walked away, and not for her morning hit of caffeine, but from a highly success career as Editorial Director in bustling New York City and traded it all for peace and solitude in the rural town of 300. She took the chance, and found the courage to take care of herself first and left it all for more time digging in the dirt, working in the garden and finding the tranquility that she craved so long for.

A Way to Garden Book
Margaret is a renaissance woman, an artist, a crafter, and gardener who has found her peace by doing everything that she loves and shares it on her New York Times award winning garden blog, A Way To Garden.
This book is the perfect feast for anyone looking to find inspiration and focus back in life. This parsley pesto recipe is inspired by Margaret, from one of her many valuable posts on cooking from the garden. Parsley is often overlooked when it comes to pesto. And reading her post was a such a refreshing change from basil pesto.
If you love pesto, you will love this parsley pesto recipe. It’s so simple, fresh and full of flavor, you won’t miss the basil at all. You can use any type of noodle or pasta that you prefer, but our choice was buckwheat soba noodles. With Spring approaching, it felt so appropriate to prepare the parsley pesto with something delicate and healthy to bring in the new, revitalizing weather.



Soba with Parsley Pesto Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 oz. dried Soba Noodles
- 3/4 cup roughly chopped Italian Parsley (flat leaf parsley)
- 2 Tablespoons Pine Nuts , toasted *see head note
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 1 Tablespoon fresh Lemon Juice
- 1/2 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
- 3 Tablespoons Grape Seed Oil , or other neutral tasting oil
Instructions
- Cook soba: Heat a large pot of water to a boil. Add soba noodles, stir as they soften, and bring water back up to a simmer (not a boil). Simmer for 6-7 minutes or according to package directions. Noodles should still have a slight firmness, and not be mushy.
- Strain soba and rinse well using the correct water temperature. *If serving warm, rinse under hot water, if serving soba at room temperature, rinse under cold water.
- While soba cooks, make parsley sauce. Combine parsley, pine nuts, garlic, lemon juice, sesame oil, soy sauce, and grape seed oil in a food processor (preferably in smaller bowl if possible) and blend ingredients together until smooth.
- Toss noodles with sauce and serve.
Nutrition Information per Serving
We have a traditional and easy basil pesto recipe here if you have an abundance of garden basil. It’s a great staple to have in the fridge. Try this pesto on our heirloom tomato tart recipe.



This is so beautiful…the post, the photos, the food…Margaret’s story. Yes, I have wanted to walk away at times…and sometimes I have wanted to walk towards…both take courage.
Thank you so much for this post!
that is my lunch is NOW planned
Margaret reminds us to do what we love and happiness follows. Your photos of the Soba with Parsley Pesto reminds us simplicity is not only beautiful but “tasteful.” –my lunch is not planned
Beautiful pictures of herbs!
Seeing the pictures here makes me want to cook 😉
Yes! I’m ready for this type of fresh Spring dish. (The book looks beautiful – I walked away from my desk one day, and though it’s scary it was totally the right choice.)
Fantastic! This looks amazing!
How can you not be a cook if you have a fabulous garden? And how can you not want a garden if you love to cook? Intrinsically linked in my mind.
In the snowy northeast pesto always reminds me of summer–and gardening.
As always photos are amazing, and leave me with a growling stomach! I’d love to win a copy of the book…it sounds divine.
I am just about to start my seeds for the spring, so now I have a new blog to follow. Thanks!
This recipe looks amazing! The photos are beautiful. I would love to win this book. Thank you so much!
Now I know what I will have for lunch or supper today: some of the fall stash of pesto that is still in the freezer. Thanks for the nudge…and also for the kind words about the book and everything.
I have been so happy to “meet” you two through Jaden so on, and have learned so much in the process of connecting to you. Now if you can just help me with some of the settings on my camera and the 8,987,432 urgent questions I have about digital photography. (Tee hee.) Your site always calms and transports me.
xoxoox
The recipe looks awesome. I make a similar dish with mint and basil pesto. I’m excited to try the parsley variety.
This book looks pretty interesting. I would love to know how to store parsley for that long and am headed over to find out now.
I fantasize about up and moving to the desert sometimes, and just living among the quiet. But then I’m snapped back into the chaotic beauty of New York City, and I remember how much joy I have in my life here, and I think, “Well, the desert might be nice to visit…”
Thanks for the info on Margaret’s blog. I will go visit. This sounds so much like what my hubby and I did 4 years ago. For the same reasons, I left behind a broadcasting career. I’m new to YOUR blog, too. I have subscribed 🙂