1 post tagged “asparagus”

Lots of yummy spring bounty at the supermarket today. I picked up some asparagus and some nice, fresh basil. This dish is kind of a variation on a standard theme with me, but for those who are tired of tomato sauce but don't want to break out the blender for pesto, here you go:

Put a pot of water on to boil.

cut up half a red onion, and mush some garlic...like 3-5 cloves, depending on if you are planning to be around humans who don't like garlic breath while or shortly after eating. (But remember, garlic keeps mosquitos away!)

Saute the above in some olive oil, and after the onions are soft, throw in a couple handsful of fresh basil with a handful of crushed walnuts (pecans would work, too...I'm thinking almonds might, as well. Oh, and if you like that loathsome creature known as the pine nut - more power to you. saute all of that for a bit, but don't overdo it. More cooking happens later, so if you need to turn it off, do so.

When the water boils, toss a bunch of asparagus, leave in for about a minute to blanch, then drain and toss the blanched asparagus in with the onion/garlic/basil/walnut mixture. Stir it up, then turn off heat and cover.

You can reuse the asparagus water to boil up some pasta (I'm feeling like some vermicelli today). I have this idea that using the water that boiled the veggies preserves some of the vitamins in with the pasta, but I'm probably wrong. Still, it seems like a good idea, and you waste less water.

Once the verm is done, drain it, rinse it, then toss it with the veg/un-pesto mixture over high heat for about a minute.

Top with a sprinking of parm & garnish with some basil and maybe some pistachios or walnuts.

yuuuuuuu-uhhhh-uuuhhhhhh-fucking-UM!

(oh...you need to add salt & fresh ground pepper, too)