Friday, July 4, 2008

Thursday Night Smackdown - Asparagus Pesto with Penne Rigate

Asparagus Pesto with Spaghetti

Michelle at Thursday Night Smackdown, one of my favourite food blogs, has opened up the fun of the Smackdown for food bloggers everywhere.  Yay!

It goes like this.  You pick a recipe from a cookbook or magazine.  You make that recipe.  You take lots and lots of pictures and you write a post.

Fresh Asparagus Waiting to be Roasted

And, while following a recipe as it's written is a huge challenge for me, I decided to give it a try.

The recipe I chose comes from the book Truly Madly Pasta by Ursula Ferrigno.  Great title.  Fabulous cookbook.  I read it cover to cover, like a novel, exclaiming loudly over many of the recipes.

This one is pretty simple.  You roast a bunch of asparagus and then buzz it in a food processor with pine nuts, lemon zest, garlic, balsamic vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil and Parmesan cheese. 

What that picture can't convey is how good that combination smells!

This Smells Heavenly!

Add salt and pepper to taste.  Cook up a bunch of penne, toss with the pesto and you're there. 

OK.  I cheated a little.  Partway into the recipe, I realized we didn't have any penne in the house.  But there was no way I was going to call my husband at work again (it would have been the fourth time in a single day - ridiculous) to ask him to bring some home.

So I substituted spaghetti and it worked beautifully!

Yummmy!

Our friend Fiona was over for dinner.  As we all dug in, a hush fell over the table.  And that never happens when the three of us get together.  It was just that good!

(You can't say anything Michelle, you totally cheated on yours.  And I'm jealous.)

 

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a great-looking pesto!

What's Cookin Chicago said...

This is great - and such a nice change from the traditional basil pesto. Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Asparagus pesto. I never thought of that. It's gorgeous and I'll bet it has a nice light flavor. If asparagus was still in season around here I'd give this ago. It's on the to-do list for spring!!

Thanks for the great recipe.

Barb McMahon and Alan Mailloux said...

Apparently, you can make pesto from just about anything that can be buzzed up, smoothed out and tossed with pasta. Think of the possibilities!

Glad you all liked it!