6 years ago

Healthy Asparagus Pesto

A delicious, flavorful twist on traditional pesto, and a great way to use fresh asparagus during the spring.

4-6 servings (about 1 ½ cups)
Preparation time: 20 minutes

Ingredients
Salt
1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch segments
1 clove garlic (or more to taste)
¼ cup pine nuts
¼ cup olive oil, or more as desired
¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
Juice of ½ lemon (or to taste)

Directions

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it.
  2. Add the asparagus and cook until fully tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain well, reserving some of the cooking liquid, and let the asparagus cool slightly.
  3. Transfer the asparagus to a food processor; add the garlic, pine nuts, 2 tablespoons of the oil, Parmesan, a pinch of salt and a couple of tablespoons of the cooking liquid.
  4. 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.
  5. 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).

Recipe source: New York Times