Asparagus Pesto Penne
A light and lemony pasta dish with asparagus pesto tossed with penne and asparagus tips
Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh asparagus rinsed and woody ends removed
- 1 ½ cups penne pasta or other short pasta
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ½ lemon, juiced approximately 2 Tablespoons
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus extra for garnish
- 1 tsp kosher salt or ½ tsp table salt, plus more for pasta water
- fresh cracked black pepper
- ½ cup reserved salty pasta cooking water
- snipped fresh chives optional, for garnish
Instructions
- Rinse asparagus and trim woody ends. Cut off tips in about 2 inch pieces. Cut one further row from the top to have about 1 cup of asparagus tips and tops. Reserve.
- Roughly chop remaining asparagus. Add to food chopper, processor or blender, along with garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Process until fairly smooth. Drizzle in olive oil and process again until well blended.
- Grate parmesan and stir into pesto. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if required.
- Meanwhile, bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta 2 minutes less than al dente cooking instructions on package. Drop reserved asparagus tips into pot and cook for 2 minutes until pasta is al dente.
- Drain pasta, reserving ½ cup of hot cooking water. Toss hot cooked pasta with pesto, stirring until well coated. Add some of the cooking water and toss until a creamy sauce forms, adding more water if necessary, up to but not more than ½ cup.
- Serve immediately with more freshly grated parmesan cheese and snipped fresh chives if desired.
Nutrition
Calories: 222kcalCarbohydrates: 26.6gProtein: 9.3gFat: 9.8gSaturated Fat: 2.4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.9gMonounsaturated Fat: 5.6gCholesterol: 7.3mgSodium: 760.4mgPotassium: 254.7mgFiber: 3.5gSugar: 3.4g
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