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Asparagus Pesto Pasta
Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes Total Time: 30 minutes Servings: 4
A fresh and bright asparagus pesto pasta that’s tasty, quick and easy!
ingredients
- 12 ounces pasta (such as penne) (gluten-free for gluten-free)
- 1 pound asparagus, cleaned, trimmed
- 1/4 cup basil
- 1 clove garlic (chopped)
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts, lightly toasted
- 1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano (parmesan cheese), grated
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- lemon juice to taste
- salt to taste
directions
- Start cooking the pasta as directed on the package.
- Blanch the asparagus by cooking it in boiling water until it turns just dark green before transferring to very cold water to cool and stop the cooking process.
- Puree the asparagus, basil,garlic, pine nuts, parmesan, olive oil, lemon juice and salt until smooth. *
- When the pasta is done cooking: Drain, reserving 1-2 cups of the cooking water, and mix in the pesto along with enough of the reserved cooking water to make the sauce nice and creamy!
- Enjoy!
Option: Blanch the asparagus first and then use the water it was cooked in to cook the pasta and infuse it with more asparagus flavour!
Option: Add (or replace the basil with ) 1/4 cup baby spinach.
Option: Replace the pine nuts with walnuts, or cashews, or pistachios.
Note: * Taste test the pesta and adjust as desired. Add more olive oil if required to get it nice and smooth. Optionally add more lemon juice, salt, garlic, etc. as desired.
Nutrition Facts: Calories 355, Fat 16g (Saturated 3g, Trans 0), Cholesterol 6mg, Sodium 117mg, Carbs 69g (Fiber 5g, Sugars 4g), Protein 17g
Nutrition by: 
