It's been awhile since I posted a pasta recipe on the blog. When I saw this one posted in Fine Cooking I immediately started to crave it - the thought of the bright emerald asparagus pesto was all it took to place this on the menu. When I whipped this up there was no local asparagus in the market - things seem to be about 3 weeks behind here. However, I found some from the US that looked good.
Although you might think so at first glance this is a quick recipe to pull together - I arrived home from the office and had the pesto made before Paul came home. when he arrived I cooked the pasta (I used whole grain pasta) and by the time he had made a delicious salad we were enjoying our dinner.
We both loved this - appareciating the fresh and intense flavours that you get from roasting veggies and letting their natural goodness shine through in the dish. I can't wait to make this again with the fresh Ontario asparagus that is just starting to hit the markets now.
Linguine with Roasted Asparagus and Almond Pesto
Kosher salt
3/4 lb. asparagus, trimmed
2 cups grape tomatoes
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
2 Tbs. finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 lb. dried linguine
Freshly ground black pepper
Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and heat the oven to 425°F. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil over high heat.
Arrange the asparagus in a single layer on one half of a large rimmed baking sheet. Arrange the tomatoes on the other half of the sheet. Drizzle both with 1 Tbs. of the oil, season with 1/4 tsp. salt, and toss to coat. Roast on the top rack until the tomatoes have collapsed and the asparagus are bright green, about 20 minutes.
While the vegetables roast, put the almonds on another rimmed baking sheet and toast on the bottom rack, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes.
Reserve 1 heaping Tbs. of the almonds for garnish and put the remaining almonds in a food processor. Remove the tips from the asparagus and set aside. Roughly chop the remaining asparagus and add to the food processor along with the basil, cheese, 1/2 tsp. salt, and the remaining 3 Tbs. olive oil. Pulse until a coarse paste forms, about 10 seconds. Season to taste with salt and pepper and transfer to a large serving bowl.
Cook the linguine in the boiling water according to package directions until al dente. Drain the pasta and reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water. Add the pasta to the pesto and toss to coat. If necessary, add some or all of the reserved cooking water to loosen the pesto to a saucy consistency. Garnish with the tomatoes, asparagus tips, and reserved almonds, and serve.
This is definitely my kind of dish Jerry!
Posted by: bellini | May 29, 2011 at 09:06 AM
It was great Ballini - you have to love those roasted tomatoes. MMMMMM
Posted by: JDeQ | June 30, 2011 at 06:14 AM