Ingredients for 4 persons :
1 packet of wholemeal tagliatelle
1 pinch of sea salt
2 x 500 g green asparagus
100 g pine nuts
2 shallots
2 cloves of garlic
Approximately ¼ litre of olive oil
Approximately 80 g Parmesan cheese
Herb salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1-2 tablespoons rapeseed oil
Smoked paprika powder
Piment d’espelette
Preparation :
1. For the pasta, bring the water to the boil in a tall saucepan with a little whole sea salt and cook the tagliatelle until al dente. Drain, reserving the pasta water.
2. In the meantime, wash the asparagus, trim if necessary, cut off the tips and cook briefly in the pasta water. Then drain on kitchen paper.
3. Toast the pine nuts in a pan without oil.
4. Peel the shallots and garlic. Remove the germ from the garlic.
5. For the pesto, purée the shallots with the garlic, the lower parts of the asparagus and half of the roasted pine nuts with a little olive oil. Gradually add the remaining olive oil. Mix in the grated Parmesan cheese and season with herb salt and freshly ground black pepper. Mix everything well again.
6. Heat the rapeseed oil in a large frying pan. Fry the asparagus tips, then remove and set aside.
7. Add the drained tagliatelle to the pan, stir in the prepared pesto, bring to the boil again and mix well.
8. Season with herb salt, freshly ground black pepper, smoked paprika powder and piment d’espelette.
9. To serve, place the pasta in deep plates, top with the asparagus tips and the remaining pine nuts.
My recommandations:
- The green asparagus pesto is also delicious as a side dish or dip.
- Instead of pine nuts, you can use other nuts or seeds as desired, e.g. walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, pistachios, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds or chia seeds.
- For a vegan pesto, omit the cheese and replace it with yeast flakes.
Product description:
The name ‘pesto’ comes from Italian and means ‘stomped’. Pesto is a cold sauce that is traditionally served with pasta. It can be prepared in many different ways, i.e. with numerous vegetables, leafy greens or wild herbs, according to your own taste. Homemade pesto made from fresh, high-quality ingredients is very healthy, especially if you use high-quality oil. Conventional pesto often contains cheaper types of oil.
