Tonight’s dinner was literally the easiest meal ever!! Lemon pesto capunti pasta with asparagus. First of all, lemon pesto anything is freaking amazing!! I mean, don’t you agree? We just love this capunti pasta because of it’s light texture and of course it’s pretty ruffled edges. It’s always fun to mix it up when serving something simple like this dish. You guys are going to love this one and we know you are also really going to love how easy it is to make. This dish is perfect for a crazy busy weeknight but it’s also pretty and delicious enough to serve to guests for dinner or a fun lunch. The ingredients are really simple…we like to use homemade pesto but there are lots of delicious one’s you can buy in the stores so you could even shave off more time on the prep and buy some pesto if you are short on time. Our recipe is really very simple though so we’d like to encourage you to give it a shot! You can also substitute your favorite pasta if you are not able to find capunti. Don’t stress, it’s just pasta! Okay, check out how easy this dish is to master….
Here’s your line up or cast of characters! Pesto, pasta, fresh asparagus and lemon! If you are a regular here at GTK, you are aware of our obsession with lemons. They can do wonders to just about any dish! For this one, we use the zest and the juice. Winning!!
So you are just going to start by cooking the pasta according to the package directions. After it’s cooked, don’t just dump it into a strainer, be sure to reserve a cup of the boiling water and set it aside. You are going to use it to thin out the pesto so just hang tight. After you drain the rest of the pasta water, add the pasta back to the pot and toss in the asparagus and the pesto. Stir to combine, adding small amounts of the reserved pasta water to thin out the pesto. Add in the fresh lemon juice and zest and top with freshly grated pecorino romano or parmesan. Serve it up and watch how fast this one goes!!
- 2 C packed fresh basil leaves
- ¼ C toasted pine nuts
- 1 cloved garlic, chopped
- ½ C grated parmesan cheese
- ½ C good quality olive oil
- kosher salt
- 1 lb capunti or like pasta
- 1 bunch asparagus
- ¾ - 1 C prepared pesto
- ¼ - ½ C reserved pasta water
- zest and juice of 1 medium lemon
- grated pecorino romano or parmesan to top
- In a food processor combine basil, cheese, garlic, pine nuts and ¼ C olive oil. Slowly drizzle in the remaining ¼ C olive oil while the food processor is running. Season with kosher salt to taste.
- Cook pasta according to package ingredients.
- Cut tough ends off of asparagus. Cut asparagus into thirds at an angle.
- When pasta is cooked, use a label to remove 1 cup of boiling pasta water, set aside. Drain pasta and return to pot. Add asparagus and ¾ C pesto. Stir to incorporate, thin out with ¼ - ½ C reserved pasta water. Add more pesto/water if needed. Add the juice of 1 lemon, season with S&P. Top with lemon zest and grated cheese. Serve immediately.