Asparagus Pesto Recipes

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.

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.

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.

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.)
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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.

Steps:

• Put well-seasoned stock or broth into a saucepan and bring it to a simmer over low heat, with a ladle nearby or in the pot.
• Heat olive oil over medium heat in a wide, heavy nonstick skillet or a wide, heavy saucepan. Add onion and a generous pinch of salt, and cook gently until it is just tender, about 3 minutes. Do not brown.
• Stir in rice and garlic and stir until the grains separate and begin to crackle. Add wine and stir until it is no longer visible in the pan. Begin adding simmering stock, a couple of ladlefuls (about 1/2 cup) at a time. The stock should just cover rice and should be bubbling, not too slowly but not too quickly. Cook, stirring often, until it is just about absorbed. Add another ladleful or two of the stock and continue to cook in this fashion, adding more stock and stirring when rice is almost dry. You do not have to stir continually, but stir often. After 10 minutes, add asparagus and continue to stir and add stock for another 10 to 15 minutes, until rice is cooked through but still al dente.
• Add another ladleful of stock to the rice. Stir in pesto and additional cheese and remove from heat. Taste and adjust seasoning. Mix should be creamy (add more stock if it isn't). Serve right away in wide soup bowls or on plates, spreading risotto in a thin layer rather than a mound.

Steps:

• Process 1 garlic clove in a blender until finely chopped. Add ⅓ cup cashews and 1 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 ¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt and blend until cashews are finely chopped, about 30 seconds. Add 1 cup packed basil leaves and half of asparagus (about 4 oz.) and process until a smooth paste forms, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. With processor running, stream in ⅓ cup olive oil and 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice until combined.
• Cook 12 oz. whole wheat fusilli in a large pot of boiling salted water for 1 minute less than package directions. Add remaining asparagus and cook for 1 minute more. Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking liquid, then drain pasta and asparagus.
• Return pasta and asparagus to pot and add pesto. Toss, adding pasta cooking liquid ¼ cup at a time, until desired texture is achieved. Top each serving with additional basil leaves.

Steps:

• Rinse asparagus, and pat dry. Cut into 1-inch pieces on the diagonal, or into julienne strips if preferred. Set aside.
• In blender or small food processor, purée olive oil, basil and parsley to make a thin pesto. Season with salt and pepper.
• Put a 10-inch cast-iron skillet or other nonstick omelet pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add butter and swirl to coat pan, then add asparagus. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring for about a minute without browning.
• Quickly pour in eggs and stir with a wooden spoon, as if making scrambled eggs. Tilt pan and lift mixture at the edges to allow any runny egg from the top to make its way to the bottom. After 3 or 4 minutes, the frittata should be mostly set. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
• Lay a lid over the skillet, and turn off the heat. Leave for a minute or so, until frittata is moist and just done. (Alternatively, place pan under a hot broiler for a minute or so.)
• Set whole burrata in the center of frittata. Drizzle with herb pesto. Pierce burrata with tip of a knife and spoon contents over frittata. Cut frittata into wedges and serve directly from pan, garnished with basil leaves.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Mix pesto with garlic and oil and toss with asparagus on a baking sheet.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Roast in a preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until done to your.
• liking.
• Sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan cheese and serve hot.