Asparagus Pesto Pasta Salad from Fat Free Vegan

This recipe for Asparagus Pesto Pasta Salad from Fat Free Vegan caught my eye (and stomach) recently. I’ve never made my own pesto before, and liked that this one had an asparagus base to it. And pasta salad in the summer? Yes please. Anything to eat with less heat is more appealing to me right now. I made this dish over the course of the day so it’d be ready when I got home from spin class, ravenous as usual. I also wanted to allow the flavors to mesh in this dish, since the creator, Susan, actually notes the salad’s flavors improve overnight. I started by cooking the asparagus and pasta in the morning. After work I blended the pesto and added it to my pasta. By 8pm I had a nice bowl of Asparagus Pesto Pasta salad waiting for me.

I used about 5 servings of pasta instead of 8, and a little less than 2 pounds of asparagus. I slightly lowered the other ingredients as well (for example 2 garlic cloves instead of 3), but otherwise I followed the recipe to a T and it came out great. I love that Susan instructs us to cook the pasta in the same water you boiled the asparagus. Since vitamins and minerals are leached into the water when you boil veggies, this is a great way to absorb them right back into your food – in this case, the pasta. Otherwise, the nutrients go right down the drain when you toss out the water. I also like recipes that call for nutritional yeast, since this is a great source of vitamin B12, especially for vegans. And the tomatoes were a nice touch – I’d opt to keep them in if I were you!

This pasta salad would be good to serve to asparagus-lovers and even not-so-much-asparagus lovers. You really couldn’t tell there was asparagus blended into the pesto, even though it is a main ingredient. Funk thought the pasta salad was fab, and I do too. Don’t worry, my asparagus-loving mom. I have extra asparagus pesto to bring to you this weekend!

Asparagus Pesto Pasta Salad

2 pounds asparagus
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup pine nuts (lightly toasted – whoops forgot to do that)
1 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
OPTIONAL: 1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound whole wheat or gluten-free spiral pasta
2 medium ripe tomatoes, diced (optional)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Snap off the tough ends of the asparagus. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and add the asparagus spears. Cook until just tender, about 4 minutes.

Without emptying the water from the pot, lift out the asparagus spears and place them in a colander. Rinse with cool water.Bring the water back to a boil. Add salt, if needed, and add pasta. Cook until the pasta is al dente.

Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water, and drain and rinse the pasta with cool water. Put into a serving bowl.Place the asparagus on a cutting board. Trim off the top 3 inches of the asparagus spears, and put the tips into the bowl with the pasta. Cut the bottoms into several pieces, and set aside to use in the pesto sauce.

Use a food processor to make the pesto:
With the processor running, drop in the garlic cloves and allow them to chop. Add 2 tablespoons of the pine nuts, and pulse to chop. Add the lemon juice, basil, salt, nutritional yeast, and the asparagus pieces (not the tips!) along with 3-6 tablespoons of the reserved pasta water and optional olive oil. (Start with 3 tbsp. water and add more as needed.) Puree until smooth.

Toss the pasta, asparagus tips, and tomatoes (if using) with the pesto, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with the remaining pine nuts. Serve at room temperature or refrigerate until ready to serve.