Food writer Jennifer Schell says: “This is a gorgeous, fresh-tasting pesto that has an unbelievable saucy texture and super green colour. It’s great tossed with pasta, on grilled chicken, in a panini, on bruschetta…basically on anything that likes pesto.”
Ingredients
- 1 pound asparagus snapped into pieces
- 1 clove garlic
- ¼ cup pine nuts (If you want to keep it local, use walnuts. I hope my neighbourhood squirrel gang leaves a few behind this year!)
- 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1-2 tbsps lemon zest (make sure you use organic lemons especially when zesting)
- 2 tbsps chopped fresh basil
Instructions
- Boil asparagus until just done in salted water.
- Drain and let cool.
- Into your food processor, add the asparagus, garlic, nuts, extra-virgin olive oil, Parmesan cheese, a shake of salt and a grind of fresh pepper.
- Whizz for a couple of seconds – pause to scrape down the sides – add the lemon juice and zest – then whizz again.
- Season with more salt and pepper or lemon to taste and scrape into bowl.
- Stir in chopped basil.
This will last a couple of days in the fridge – but its brilliant green colour will change, so best to use right away tossed with a big bowl of the pasta of your choice.
