Whole-Wheat Fettucini with Asparagus Pesto

       

     I finally got around to putting the new pasta maker to use that my lovely sister and her husband bought the ladyfriend and I.  While I still need time to work on perfecting the use of this cool machine, I believe this batch came out quite nice.  As a preamble to spring (though we just received 18 inches of snow here last weekend), I decided to make an asparagus pesto to have with the whole-wheat pasta.  This is a quick and simple but tasty recipe.  Bon Appetito.

Prep Time: 10-20 min (30 min if you make your own pasta)

Cook Time: 20 min

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:

1lb fettucini pasta 

1lb asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2 in pieces

2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/8 cup olive oil (or more if desired)

10-20 fresh basil leaves

1/2 lemon, squeezed

3 oz pine nuts

salt to taste 

Directions:

• boil salted water to cook fettucini
• steam asparagus for 10 minutes or until tender (not too soft or mushy)
• add garlic, pine nuts, basil, lemon juice, salt to a food processor
• add all ingredients to processor or blender
• add water from steaming the asparagus to adjust the consistency if needed.
• serve pesto atop the fettucini

Potential Alternatives:

• try different pasta type (linguini, penne, etc.)
• add 1/2 a cup parmesan cheese or top at the end
• try adding arugula to get more of an elitist flavor
• use the pesto atop fish or chicken