Is there a better feeling than turning kitchen trash into delectable nom noms? You’ve probably never given much thought to throwing out those tough asparagus butts you trim off your spears, this is about to change that. Now you’ll be able to magically transform something you’ve been tossing in the bin into a culinary delight that definitely will not seem like it was something you would throw away, your loved ones will be wowed and amazed at your kitchen ingenuity and resourcefulness. (and look at that lovely picture of butts! don’t you feel bad for throwing them away all these years?)
If you don’t know about snapping your asparagus to trim, check out this post where i talk about it in detail. Roasting the asparagus for this enriches it’s flavours and really bring out its savory earthy notes, basil brings in some sweetness and parsley really brings in a lot of green-ness, which the asparagus tends to lose in roasting. A little mint helps to bring some light airiness to help offset the heaviness of the flavours, while the generous amount of lemon zest brightens things up without adding acidity. Nutritional yeast and miso bring some rich umami qualities to the table, filling in where a cheese might be used, enriching the flavors and adding a softness to the dish. I’ve used pecans here, as i feel there flavor matches best with the asparagus, but you’re welcome to use what you have on hand. Pine nuts, hazelnuts, and walnuts would be my first choices (in that order), or, if you’d like a creamier version, you can try cashews (these will also make for a sweeter pesto overall.)
Roasting will dry out the asparagus, when you pull it from the oven it isn’t going to look all that yum, don’t worry, this is exactly how we want it! Too much moisture would just lead to a soupy sauce and not a thick, rich pesto, and while that’s fine (i guess) it’s not what we are after here.
This recipe comes together pretty easy and quick, the zest will probably take you the longest, but don’t skimp on it, it’s extremely important to the dish, without it you’re going to have a rather flat pesto that just feels like it’s falling short. When blending the asparagus, use your judgement on how fine you want it, if your butts roasted up to be pretty soft and don’t seem stringy, you can keep it a little coarser, if they are a little more chewy, then just blast them until there’s no texture left. Mine came out quite soft and i left it a little chunkier, and while it looks a little stringy, i assure you it’s not, it’s very soft indeed.
Time to turn some trash into treasure! [eat your garbage, save the world]