Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Asparagus Pesto

I am a huge fan of this skinny, little, green vegetable

~ Asparagus!

It is wonderful no matter how it is cooked:

roasted, sauteed, added to pasta, eggs or

even as a topping on pizza.

Tonight I made Asparagus Pesto

1 pound pasta of your choice

1 pound asparagus

1/4 cup of pine nuts, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds

2 medium garlic cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 ounces freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (about 2/3 cup)

Wash and cut the ends from asparagus.

Cut asparagus into 2-inch pieces.

Steam the asparagus stalks, covered, 4 minutes.

Transfer asparagus to ice water to stop cooking.

Drain asparagus well in a colander and pat dry.


In a food processor pulse nuts and garlic,

asparagus with salt until finely chopped.

And oil and pulse until coarsely chopped.

Transfer pesto to a bowl and stir in Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente.

Reserve 1/3 cup pasta cooking water

Drain pasta in a colander.

Add pasta and reserved cooking water to pesto,

tossing to coat, and season with salt and pepper.




Fantastico!
I can't think of a better dish to submit to
Weekend Herb Blogging which is hosted
by Simona from Briciole .

4 comments:

Simona Carini said...

Very nice idea. I am also a huge fan of asparagus. As your recipe demonstrates, asparagus are quite versatile, besides being delicious.

Kalyn Denny said...

Very interesting idea, and a great entry for WHB! Even though asparagus isn't that unusual, I think this way of using it is definitely something a lot of people haven't thought of. (Now I want to try it myself!)

Chris said...

Hmmm...and new pesto. Whoohoo! Thanks my friend!

Southbird said...

Wow, take it from me this was good stuff! Fantatistic nutty flavor with asparagus is really good.