Straw and Hay Fettucine Tangle with Spring Asparagus Puree

This is a delicious recipe we tried for the first time tonight. I was feeling a little skeptical as I was pureeing the asparagus and spinach, but it turned out to be excellent (and quite easy, too). It comes from an interesting cookbook with lots of unique recipes called Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson. The author also has a website called 101 Cookbooks where she posts her recipes, along with gorgeous photos of the finished products. (I can't take credit for the photo below as it's from still another website--I didn't anticipate liking this recipe so well that I would want to blog about it, so I didn't take any pictures.)



Straw and Hay Fettuccine Tangle with Spring Asparagus Puree

Spring Asparagus Puree
1 bunch asparagus spears, trimmed and halved crosswise
3 handfuls baby spinach leaves
2 cloves garlic
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
1 cup toasted pine nuts
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for topping
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt

4 ounces dried spinach fettuccine, or 6 ounces fresh
4 ounces dried egg fettuccine, or 6 ounces fresh

Bring 2 pots of water to a rolling boil, one large and one medium. You'll use the large one to cook the pasta and the medium one to blanch the asparagus.

To make the asparagus puree, salt the asparagus water and drop the spears in the pot. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the spears are a bright green and barely tender. Drain and transfer to a food processor (preferably) or a blender. Add the spinach, garlic, the 1 cup Parmesan, and 3/4 cup of the pine nuts. Puree and, with the motor running, drizzle in the 1/4 cup olive oil until a paste forms. It should be the loose consistency of a pesto; if too thick, thin it with a bit of the pasta water. Add the lemon juice and salt, then taste and adjust the seasoning.

Salt the pasta water well and cook the pasta until just tender; you'll need less time for fresh pasta, more for dried. Drain and toss immediately with 1 cup of the asparagus puree, stirring in more afterward depending on how heavily coated you like your pasta. Serve sprinkled with the remaining 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts, a dusting of Parmesan, and a quick drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.