Straw and Hay Fettuccine Tangle with Spring Asparagus Puree

I hate to say that we had this a month ago, at least. I'm even a little sheepish about it. I have a really strong affection to this pesto. Stupid simple to pull together and it was incredibly versatile. I know Ruth will get a laugh at this - yet another pesto for Presto Pasta Night! :)

Found in Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Cooking, I chose this pasta dish because I really wanted to showcase the fresh vegetables I found at the market - asparagus and peas. If you are familiar with this recipe, you'll know that it doesn't call for fresh peas... but I had them, and they were green, and I wanted to eat them, so in they went with the asparagus to blanch.

Really tasty. Happened to have about a pint of fresh peas from the market, so I tossed those in to blanch with the asparagus. I did cheat and buy my pasta this time. Isn't it weird, how foreign something can be until you're used to it? At this point, I can't imagine not making my own pasta - so long as it isn't anything shaped - which I guess is kinda simple, but still. We have the attachment for macaroni, but my one attempt was a disaster. Pasta sheets it shall be. :)

Anyway, the combination of egg and spinach pasta was visually interesting and it tasted quite nice, too. The spinach pasta added an element we aren't normally used to - so much so that I want to try to make my own spinach pasta... but that is a story for another post.

The asparagus, spinach and peas played really nicely together in the puree. The flavors blended, leaving them all to be equal players - no one flavor stood among the rest. I think I added a little more than half a lemon, but I really enjoy the extra bite of citrus in pesto.

Because I'd added a good cup of peas to the mix, I ended up with quite a lot of puree. I followed Heidi's suggestion in the book and used it everywhere I could: in sandwiches, other recipes calling for pesto, and on pizza.... all in a 10 day period. We even had the pesto pizza TWICE in that time. Why? Because the pesto, on a pizza, with ricotta, goat cheese, or mozzarella, is amazing - and we tried it each way. You'd think that having the same flavor so many times would get old, but it didn't. Our socks were that knocked off.

I'm sorry to share this past the asparagus season, but if you're like me a cheat a little and get them at other times in the season, please bookmark this recipe and give it a try. In pasta, it is surprisingly creamy, smooth and tart. On pizza, it is even better.



Straw and Hay Fettuccine Tangle with Spring Asparagus Puree
c/o Super Natural Cooking, by Heidi Swanson
http://www.amazon.com/Super-Natural-Cooking-Incorporate-Ingredients/dp/1587612755/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214342419&sr=1-1

The folate-rich asparagus and spinach puree can be made ahead of time; store it in the refrigerator in a jar topped with a layer of olive oil. It’s also great slathered on a grilled vegetable Panini, as a swirl in a simple potato soup, or as a sauce for pizza.

Spring Asparagus Puree
1 bunch asparagus spears, trimmed and halved crosswise
3 handfuls baby spinach leaves
2 cloves garlic
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
1 cup toasted pine nuts
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for topping
Juice of ½ lemon
½ teaspoon fine-grain sea salt

4 ounces dried spinach fettuccine, or 6 ounces fresh
4 ounces dried egg fettuccine, or 6 ounces fresh

Bring two pots of water to a rolling boil, one large and one medium. You’ll use the large one to cook the pasta and the medium one to blanch the asparagus.

To make the asparagus puree, salt the asparagus water and drop the spears into the pot. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the spears are bright green and barely tender. Drain and transfer to a food processor (preferably) or a blender. Add the spinach, garlic, the 1 cup of Parmesan, and ¾ cup of the pine nuts. Puree and, with the motor running, drizzle the ¼ cup olive oil until a paste forms. It should be the loose consistency of pesto; if too thick, thin it with a bit of the pasta water. Add the lemon juice and salt, then taste and adjust the seasoning.

Salt the pasta water well and cook the pasta until just tender; you’ll need less time for fresh pasta, more for dried. Drain and toss immediately with 1 cup of the asparagus puree, stirring in more afterward depending on how heavily coated you like your pasta. Serve sprinkled with the remaining ¼ cup toasted pine nuts, a dusting of Parmesan, and a quick drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.

Serves 4 to 6.

See the recipe...

Grandpa Day #2 / Hazelnut, Ricotta, and Lemon Pesto Pasta

Today marks the anniversary of my grandfather's passing, so we're having beans, franks, and potatoes for dinner. You've seen that already (but this time I got some hot dogs from the butcher) (my grandpa would have LOVED my butcher, btw), so I thought I might try to tempt you with a delicious pasta dinner we had earlier this week.

For this installment of Presto Pasta Night, hosted by Ruth at Once Upon a Feast, my second in as many weeks (go me!), I give to you: Hazelnut, Ricotta, and Lemon Pesto Pasta!!

I found this recipe in the August issue of Bon Appetit magazine... It isn't something that normally would have caught my eye, but belonging to our CSA and making regular trips to the farmer's market on weekends... we've had a lot of tomatoes in our house... so the lack of tomatoes really appealed to me. That, and I had a giant tub of ricotta in the fridge (from all those SBD-friendly desserts!)

See how there aren't multiple paragraphs of instructions? Its that easy. Process it all (in their order, of course) and boil some pasta, and you're done. Seriously. I wasn't sure I wanted to toss the whole bowl into the pasta (and I'm glad I didn't - more later), but I should have used more than I did. The moisture in the pesto was soaked up into the pasta itself, which make the whole thing really really sticky. On future helpings, I added more pesto, and it was fine. I almost want to compare it to the crumb layer in frosting... let the pasta soak up the first bit, add more and its perfect. Anyway... do what you'd like, the stickyness was a little weird, but it made it easier to cut and eat with a fork! ;)

The reason I'm glad I didn't use up all the sauce is this: Its awesome on a pizza! I went online to grab the recipe for the blog, and I saw that a reviewer suggested using the pesto on pizza - and since I'm currently in love with all things White Pizza, I had to try it out. I toasted a whole grain flat out wrap (thanks, Marcie!), then smeared the pesto on. I added a few spoonfuls of ricotta, and then put it back in the oven for 10 minutes. O my gawd. Its now become the only thing I want to eat anymore. If I had a toaster oven at work, I seriously could eat this every day of the week. No photo, and I'm sorry about that, but I'm sure you can all imagine it.

I still have all of the ingredients at home, so you betcha that I'm pulling them all out this weekend!

Hazelnut, Ricotta, and Lemon Pesto
Bon Appetit, August 2007
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/239059

This can be tossed with a pound of pasta (serve warm or chilled), used as a topping for grilled chicken, or spread onto toasted slices of baguette or focaccia.

Makes about 2 1/3 cups.

1 garlic clove, peeled
1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted, husked (about 2 ounces)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 1/2 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese (from one 15-ounce container)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons (packed) finely grated lemon peel
3 tablespoons freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
Fine sea salt

With processor running, drop garlic clove into machine and blend until finely chopped. Add hazelnuts, basil, and 2 tablespoons olive oil; process until hazelnuts and basil are finely chopped. Add ricotta cheese, lemon juice, lemon peel, and remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil; process until well blended. Transfer mixture to small bowl and stir in Pecorino Romano cheese. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

See the recipe...