Asparagus Pesto With Pasta Recipes

SPRING PESTO PASTA WITH ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add asparagus. Cook for 3 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl of ice water. Let cool, then drain.
• Bring the same pot of water back up to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 11 minutes, or until al dente. Then drain, reserving about 1/4 cup of cooking water.
• In a large bowl, combine pasta, asparagus, and basil pesto. Toss until pasta is evenly coated with pesto. If the sauce is too thick, begin pouring in some reserved pasta water (about 2 tablespoons at a time) until the sauce reaches desired consistency. Add chives, lemon zest, and mozzarella, and stir until just combined.
• Divide pasta into bowls and top with Parmesan cheese. If eating immediately, serve hot. You can also serve it cold or at room temperature as a delicious vegetarian pasta salad.

ASPARAGUS PESTO PASTA

Steps:

• Cook 1 pound trimmed asparagus in salted boiling water until crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to ice water to cool; drain and pat dry, then roughly chop. Puree the asparagus in a food processor with 1 cup fresh parsley, 1/2 cup fresh mint, 1/3 cup toasted unsalted pistachios, 1 garlic clove, 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest, 1 teaspoon kosher salt and a few grinds of pepper. Drizzle in 1/3 cup olive oil and puree until smooth. Toss with 1 pound cooked pasta and 3/4 cup parmesan, adding pasta cooking water as needed to loosen.

ASPARAGUS PESTO

Steps:

• Cut the cooked asparagus spears into thirds. Put in a food processor with the basil, pine nuts, garlic, and salt and pepper, to taste. Keep in mind you will add Parmesan as well, so be careful not to oversalt. With the machine running, slowly add the cup of olive oil. When the sauce is about the consistency of mayonnaise, it has enough oil. Pulse in the Parmesan. Thin with water, if necessary, to achieve a slick, saucy pesto. Scrape into a bowl or jar, cover, and refrigerate until needed. You should have about 3 cups. (Keeps about 2 to 3 days, refrigerated.)
• (c) 2006 NapaStyle Inc. All rights reserved

ASPARAGUS PESTO

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Add the asparagus and cook until fully tender but not mushy, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain well, reserving some of the cooking liquid, and let the asparagus cool slightly.
• Transfer the asparagus to a food processor and add the garlic, pine nuts, 2 tablespoons of the oil, Parmesan, a pinch of salt and a couple of tablespoons of the cooking liquid. Process the mixture, stopping to scrape down the sides of the container if necessary, and gradually add the remaining oil and a bit more of the reserved cooking liquid to moisten if necessary. Add the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste, pulse one last time, and serve over pasta, fish or chicken (or cover and refrigerate for up to a day).

ASPARAGUS PESTO WITH TINY POTATOES AND PASTA

Steps:

• Pesto:
• Cut the cooked asparagus spears into thirds. Put in a food processor with the basil, pine nuts, garlic, and salt and pepper, to taste. Keep in mind you will add Parmesan as well, so be careful not to oversalt. With the machine running, slowly add the cup of olive oil. When the sauce is about the consistency of mayonnaise, it has enough oil. Pulse in the Parmesan. Thin with water if necessary to achieve a slick, saucy pesto. Scrape into a bowl or jar, cover, and refrigerate until needed. You should have about 3 cups. (Keeps about 2 to 3 days, refrigerated.)
• Put the potatoes in a pan of salted cold water to cover and bring to a boil. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and let cool for a few minutes. If the potatoes are larger than about 1/2 inch in diameter, cut in half.
• Heat the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium-high heat until hot. Add the potatoes and cook until browned and crispy all over, about 5 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Keep warm. Add basil, toss with potatoes and set aside.
• While the potatoes are browning, return the water used for cooking the asparagus, if reserved, to a boil or brint a new pot of water to a boil. Add more salt and the pasta and cook until al dente, about 12 minutes. Drain through a colander, reserving about 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water. Pour the pasta into a warm serving bowl, add the potatoes, about 1 cup of the asparagus pesto, several twists of pepper, and 1/4 cup of the Parmesan. Toss well, thinning with the pasta cooking water as necessary.
• Dust with a light grating of Parmesan (a microplane grater works well for this) before serving and pass the remaining cheese and a bowl of pesto at the table.

ASPARAGUS AND PISTACHIO PESTO PASTA

Steps:

• Trim the tough ends from the asparagus. Store half of the spears upright in a glass filled halfway with water to keep it fresh for a few days or until ready to serve. Chop the remaining asparagus and place it in a food processor. Add the mint, parsley, tarragon, cheese, pistachios, garlic and lime juice. Add the EVOO, pouring to a count of 6 (1/3 to 1/2 cup). Season with salt and pepper. Pulse until the pesto comes together. Place in a small container and store in the refrigerator if not using immediately.
• To serve, bring the pesto to room temperature and place it in a large, shallow serving bowl. Slice the reserved asparagus spears on an angle into 1 1/2-inch pieces.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta and season with salt. Cook the pasta for 5 minutes, then add the peas and chopped asparagus and cook 2 to 3 more minutes. Scoop out 1 cup of the cooking water and add it to the serving bowl to thin the pesto. Drain the pasta, peas and asparagus and add to the bowl. Toss 1 to 2 minutes to combine. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with the shaved cheese.
• Cook's Note: The pesto can be stored for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

ASPARAGUS NOODLES WITH PESTO

Steps:

• Snap off the woody ends of the asparagus stalks. Use a vegetable peeler to shave the asparagus into thin wide ribbons. (The last strip of asparagus will be a little thicker than the others but it¿s fine to use.)
• Pulse the basil, parsley, pine nuts, capers, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper in a food processor until coarsely ground. With the machine running, drizzle in 1/4 cup olive oil and process until the pesto is mostly smooth.
• Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the asparagus noodles, red pepper flakes and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the asparagus is tender, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add the arugula and cook until just wilted, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat; add the pesto and 1 tablespoon water and toss to coat. Stir in the lemon zest and season with salt. Top with more zest.

PASTA WITH ASPARAGUS PESTO

Steps:

• In a 6- to 7-quart kettle bring about 5 quarts salted water to a boil for pasta.
• Have ready a bowl of ice water. Trim woody ends from asparagus. Cut asparagus stalks crosswise into 2-inch pieces, reserving tips. In a steamer set over boiling water steam stalks, covered, 4 minutes. Add reserved asparagus tips and steam, covered, until just tender, about 1 minute. Immediately transfer asparagus to ice water to stop cooking. Drain asparagus well in a colander and pat dry.
• In a food processor pulse pine nuts and garlic with salt until finely chopped. Add asparagus and oil and pulse until asparagus is coarsely chopped. Transfer pesto to a large bowl and stir in Parmigiano-Reggiano. Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente. Reserve 1/3 cup pasta cooking water and drain pasta in a colander. Add pasta and reserved cooking water to pesto, tossing to coat, and season with salt and pepper.

LINGUINE WITH ASPARAGUS PESTO

Steps:

• Snap off and discard ends of asparagus. Cut off top two inches of spears and reserve. Chop rest of spears and put in food processor with garlic, processing until very finely minced. With the machine running, drizzle in olive oil. Add 1/2 cup cheese and pulse. Transfer mixture to a bowl, fold in lemon zest, season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add pasta and cook about 6 minutes, until not quite al dente. Add asparagus spears to the pot and cook another 1 to 2 minutes, until pasta is al dente.
• Spoon 1/4 cup pasta water into a large skillet. Drain pasta and asparagus tips and add to skillet along with asparagus mixture and lemon juice. Cook over low heat, stirring with tongs, 3 minutes or so, until ingredients are well blended. Check seasonings. Transfer to 4 warm plates, scatter with oregano and serve with extra cheese.