I see pesto made all the time with things other than basil, but I had yet to try this myself. Asparagus was on sale and I decided I wanted to mix things up a bit, so I threw together this pesto with pasta, which turned out marvelously. This seems like a perfect way to get your kids to eat their vegetables because it doesn't have a strong taste of asparagus and everyone loves a big bowl of pasta (and you could use whole wheat pasta for an even healthier dish). The pesto comes out a bit nutty and really creamy, much more creamy than I had imagined (and need I remind you how healthy it is!). The pesto coats the pasta really well, turning each strand bright green, and unlike fresh basil pesto that turns a near brown when tossed with hot pasta, this retains its color. I served this with seared scallops but you could enjoy it by itself or with shrimp, chicken, anything really. I found inspiration through this recipe on epicurious and this talented food blogger (I followed her recipe almost exactly, I just skipped the parsley and spring onions).1/2 lb thin spaghetti or linguini1 lb green asparagus
a few handfuls of baby spinach
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
juice of half a lemon
salt, pepper, to taste
olive oil (about 1/4 cup)
Wash and trim the asparagus and cut into 1 inch pieces, cutting the tips together. Boil in salted water for a few minutes, strain and reserve some of the cooking water (you'll use a bit for the pesto, and I ended up leaving some in the pot, adding fresh water and then boiling the pasta in the light green water). In food processor, toss in garlic, pine nuts (you can leave a tablespoon aside to toss with pasta), lemon juice, spinach, salt, pepper and asparagus, keeping a handful of the tips aside. Pulse until combined, then pour in olive oil while smoothing out mixture. Add 1/4 cup or less of cooking water if the pesto is too thick. Spoon out pesto from food processor and fold in parmesan cheese. Boil pasta, drain nearly all of the water, keeping a tablespoon or so in the pot, fold in desired amount of pesto, toss in pine nuts and asparagus tips, serve with freshly grated parmesan.
Comments: 0
Post a Comment