OK, here's one for the recipe book.... a really fun twist on a traditional dish. Now, instead of making your pesto sauce with basil, you will subsititute it for spinach and asparagus. It makes the creamiest pesto ever, so delicious! Here's how...
Ingredients:
Pesto Sauce
1 bunch asparagus, blanched
3 handfuls spinach, raw
2 cloves garlic
1 cup parmesan cheese
3/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 of a lemon, juiced
1/2 tsp sea salt
Pasta Dish Ingredients:
1/4 cup pine nuts, roasted
1 lb. brown rice pasta
6-8 basil leaves*** optional
1 package of chicken*** optional
sprinkle of parmesan for garnish
Directions:
Bring a pot of water to boil to begin cooking your pasta. Also you need to blanch your asparagus, so bring some water to boil (in a skillet is fine) and cook the asparagus for 3 minutes, until they are bright green, then rinse them under cool water to stop the cooking process. Once your asparagus is cooked, cut the tips off and set them aside, they will be the garnish for your dish. In a small skillet, brown 1 cup of pine nuts for a minute or two to give them a toasted flavor (your pine nuts will be divided, 3/4 of a cup for the pesto sauce, 1/4 of a cup for the pasta dish). Next dump the bottom half of your asparagus stems plus everything else on your "pesto sauce ingredients" list into your Vitamix or blender and blend until it's creamy. In a seperate skillet, brown your chicken breasts or tenders, sprinkling with a little s & p and some garlic powder. Once your chicken is cooked all the way through, chop it up into bite size pieces. Now combine everything. Drain your pasta and put it in a large serving bowl, add your sauce, put in your chopped chicken, sprinkle in your toasted pine nuts and a little extra parmesan, and top with the asparagus tips and serve hot! Enjoy, it's sooooooo tasty!
** If you do opt to use basil, you can either add it to your pesto sauce, or chop it finely and sprinkle it throughout the dish, either way it's a fun way to add more flavors!
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