By Samantha Mills, Novel Eats
Makes enough for two or three pounds of pasta. Suggestion – reserve some of the pesto to use for dipping chips or raw veggies.
2 pounds asparagus, washed with ends trimmed
1/4 cup pine nuts
2-3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
Handful of fresh spinach or basil (optional, but should add additional flavor)
1 package of your preferred pasta (add an additional package if you wish to use all of your pesto in one dish)
1. Boil your pasta according to package directions.
2. Wash the asparagus and trim the ends, then steam or boil for a few minutes until just tender. When the asparagus has finished cooking, reserve some of the spears for garnish, and place the rest in a food processor. Add to the food processor the pine nuts and garlic, as well as the basil and spinach if you are using those. As the processor is blending the ingredients together, slowly pour in the olive oil.
3. Once the pesto has mixed, add the salt and blend more. At this point taste test. Does it have enough salt? Does the pesto have enough flavor? Ask yourself if something is missing. When you feel it is ready, add the pesto to your cooked, drained and rinsed pasta and mix well.
4. Garnish with some asparagus spears and serve.
