Tagliatelle with Asparagus and Pesto

To prepare the tagliatelle with asparagus and pesto, start by preparing the Genoese pesto; for more details consult the Genoese pesto (Pesto alla genovese) sheet). Put the garlic clove in a mortar (you can alternatively use a mixer) and chop it, then add the fresh basil leaves 1 along with the coarse salt. Crush the basil against the walls of the mortar by rotating the pestle from left to right and simultaneously rotate the mortar in the opposite direction (from right to left). When the basil leaves release a bright green liquid, add the pine nuts and start pounding again 2. Add the cheeses and finally the extra virgin olive oil which should be poured in a thin stream, always mixing with the pestle. Mix the ingredients well until you get a homogeneous sauce 3. Now that the pesto is ready, set it aside; if you already have homemade pesto you can use 120-150 g for this recipe.

Now move on to preparing the asparagus: wash them thoroughly under running water 4. Then remove the harder white end part, leveling the asparagus, and peel the stalk with a potato peeler or a small knife until it is white to remove the fibrous part 5. Cut the tips that will be used whole or halved for the preparation and slice the stalk into rounds 6. For these operations, you can consult the cooking school: how to clean asparagus.

Then prepare the sauté for cooking the asparagus: finely chop the onion; in a pan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over very low heat and add the chopped onion to brown it 7. Add the asparagus stalk slices to the onion 8, then salt and pepper to taste. Cook the stalk pieces for about ten minutes, adding a ladle of Vegetable broth or hot water to aid cooking 9. After the indicated time, turn off the heat.

Now remove half of the stalks from the pan and blend them in a mixer 10. You can add a bit of vegetable broth or hot water to create a creamy texture 11. Bring the asparagus cream back to the stalk pieces in the pan 12, mix everything over low heat and set aside.

Meanwhile, in another pan, melt the remaining butter over very low heat 13 and sauté the whole or halved asparagus tips for 5 minutes 14; salt and pepper to taste and turn off the heat. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the tagliatelle 15. Then cook the pasta according to the cooking times on the package.

When the pasta is al dente, drain it and transfer it to the pan where you had mixed the stalk pieces and the asparagus cream and place over low heat. Then add the pesto 16 and finally the sautéed asparagus tips 17. Mix in the pan for a few seconds, turn off the heat, and serve the tagliatelle with asparagus and pesto hot 18!