I wanted to try asparagus pesto, in another attempt to make my kids eat vegetables… other than the usual carrots. 😅 Grrrr oh, lately they only eat those!!!! 😂😄
It went well! Experiment successful!
My kids enjoyed the pasta I dressed with this creamy and delicate asparagus pesto. And they didn’t complain! 😊 Maybe it’s because I used it to dress gnocchi, which really pair well with this pesto. Truly delicious!
This pesto is nice and creamy thanks to the fresh cheese. It also slightly mutes the flavor of asparagus, which is necessary with my kids.
The spreadable cheese can be replaced with a similar cheese, like robiola or ricotta, but if you don’t need to “soften” the asparagus taste, as I do, you can easily replace it with parmesan, as is traditionally used for pesto.
One last thing before moving on to the recipe: I used pine nuts and almonds, but it also comes out great with sunflower seeds.
Ready? Let’s go!
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Other “alternative pestos” I make:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 1 bunch asparagus (frozen is fine too)
- 1 tbsp pine nuts
- 1 tbsp almonds
- 2 tbsps fresh cheese (or ricotta, or robiola, or quark)
- 1 bunch basil
- 2 cloves garlic
- extra virgin olive oil
- pepper
Tools
- Chopper
- Knife
- Pan
Steps
Clean the asparagus, removing the bottom part of the stalk (more information about asparagus can be found on this page).
Cut the asparagus tips long enough (some will be used for decoration) and chop the stalks into smaller pieces.
Cook the asparagus in a pan with a little oil and a clove of garlic (which will be removed at the end of cooking) with the lid closed. Add a few tablespoons of water as needed.
Alternatively, they can be boiled (either traditionally or in the microwave), but I prefer pan cooking because it better preserves the asparagus flavor, as I do not add salt.
Once the asparagus is cooked, place it in the chopper with the pine nuts, almonds, basil, and the remaining garlic clove.
👉 The amount of basil can be to taste. As you can see from the photos, the asparagus pesto can be lighter or darker depending on the amount of basil.
Blend. Add oil in the desired quantity and continue blending until a creamy texture is achieved. Usually, I use little oil at this stage because it can be added to taste when dressing the pasta.
Finally, add the fresh cheese and blend briefly to combine. Great to use in this pesto is homemade spreadable cheese, I recommend it!
Pepper to taste.
Here are our gnocchi dressed with this delicious asparagus pesto:
Here are the “old photos”, I used more basil and the pesto was denser, but the taste is always excellent!
Salt-Free Tips
Today’s tip: Since this asparagus pesto is completely without added salt, I recommend a sprinkle of pepper directly on the plates when serving. It adds that extra flavor.
If you’re interested in reducing or eliminating salt, always remember to:
■ Gradually decrease the salt, your palate needs time to adjust and shouldn’t notice the progressive reduction.
■ Use spices. Chili, pepper, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cumin…
■ Use aromatic herbs. Basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, mint…
■ Use seeds. Sesame, pine nuts, almonds, walnuts…
■ Use spicy vegetables or fruit. Garlic, onion, lemon, orange…
■ Use my salt-free vegetable granules and gomasio.
■ Prefer fresh foods.
■ Avoid boiling, prefer cooking methods that don’t dilute flavors (grilling, foil, steaming, microwaving).
■ Avoid bringing the salt shaker to the table!
■ Occasionally break the rule. It’s good for the mood and helps perseverance.
If you cannot or do not want to give up salt:
■ You can still try my recipes, salting according to your habits.
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