Pesto Pasta Primavera
I love hearing from you guys, I have the best members in the entire world. What I love even more is hearing what recipes you are craving and would love to see in upcoming issue. A darling email arrived a few months ago from a member requesting that I create a recipe for pasta primavera for the May issue and I couldn’t refuse! Last spring, we had a creamy swiss chard recipe that gave very early spring primavera vibes, but this dish screams SPRING IS HERE. The pesto is so fresh tasting and the asparagus and peas are so green and vibrant that you can’t help but feel like you are eating spring on a fork. I hope you love it.
Ingredients:
Makes 8 servings
Pesto:
2 cups fresh basil
2 cups other soft green, like arugula, spinach, even other herbs or just more basil!
1/2 cup olive oil
juice of 2 lemons
1 teaspoon salt
6 garlic cloves
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan
8 servings pasta:
1 large bunch asparagus, ends trimmed and stalks cut into 1 inch lengths
1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas
Directions:
First, get a large pot of water boiling. While that’s going, put all of the pesto ingredients into a blender and let it rip. You want a very smooth mixture. Set it aside. When the water is boiling, add the pasta and cook for half the specified cook time. When the timer goes off, add the asparagus and peas and cook for the rest of the specified time (it should be about 5-6 minutes each). This is just enough time to cook the veggies. When the pasta and veggies are done, drain the pasta and put back in the pot with the veggies. Pour the pesto sauce over top and stir well. Taste a bit and see if it needs more salt, if so add it now! Serve with the lemon butter fish and a shower of fresh parmesan. Enjoy!
