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Ingredients

2 tablespoons pine nuts 1 cup water, or as needed 1 ½ pounds fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces ¾ cup packed fresh basil, divided ¼ cup olive oil 1 clove garlic, crushed 1 teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper ⅓ cup grated Pecorino-Romano cheese, plus more for garnish 1 (16 ounce) package orecchiette pasta

Nutrition Info

581 calories carbohydrate: 89.8 g cholesterol: : - fat: 17.9 g fiber: 7.9 g protein: 19.1 g saturatedFat: 2.3 g servingSize: - sodium: 587.5 mg sugar: 5.3 g transFat: : - unsaturatedFat: : -

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat, add pine nuts. Cook and stir pine nuts until fragrant and toasted, about 5 minutes.
Pour enough water into a skillet to reach a 1-inch depth, bring to a boil. Add asparagus and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove asparagus from skillet, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water. Set aside 1/2 cup asparagus tips.
Blend remaining asparagus, pine nuts, reserved 1/2 cup cooking water, 1/2 cup basil, olive oil, garlic, salt, black pepper in a blender until smooth, keeping the center piece of lid removed to release steam. Add Pecorino-Romano cheese, blend until smooth.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook orecchiette pasta in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until cooked through but firm to the bite, about 10 minutes. Drain and return pasta to pot.
Slice the remaining 1/4 cup basil. Add sliced basil, asparagus sauce, reserved asparagus tips to pasta, toss to evenly mix. Garnish with extra Pecorino-Romano cheese.

4 servings

This is a new twist on pesto for all asparagus lovers! Shell pasta can be substituted for orecchiette.