So, I am officially in training mode until June 27th. That’s the day of my friend’s half marathon WE are training for. . I would run it with her, but I will be in Chicago for Eat Write Retreat. My first ever (and only) half marathon was in 2001 in San Francisco, 14 years ago. Oh my gawd, has it been that long? But, on the up side, I’m proud of myself that I’m still a runner! I decided to join my friend and actually join a running/training group to get back into shape and just for my love of running. Running with a group of people is so much more motivating.
Running, cross training, weight training (my Tracy Anderson workout videos at home), free yoga at our running center and eating healthier. . if I could eat pesto everyday, I would.
Lemony Pesto Pasta with Asparagus
Just look at this gorgeousness.
We’re in April, so I’m all about spinach pesto. I also love to mix in some fresh arugula. . adds a nice peppery-ness!
And then I added roasted asparagus and almonds because I’m still on the asparagus train and will be for the next couple of months!
Lemony Pesto Pasta with Asparagus
You guys, THIS is the pasta dish to try this weekend. Do it!!!
Lemony Pesto Pasta with Asparagus
Ingredients
For the pesto:
- 2 to 3 cups packed fresh baby spinach
- 1 cup fresh arugula
- 2 to 3 cloves garlic; whole or minced
- ¼ cup almonds
- 1/2 cup good quality extra-virgin olive oil + more if needed
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese freshly grated
- Kosher salt to taste
- crushed red pepper flakes if desired
For the pasta:
- 1/2 lb. fettuccine cooked
- 1 1/2 cups spinach pesto
- drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
- 10 spears roasted asparagus with lemon cut into 1 inch pieces
- juice from 1/2 lemon
- sliced almonds
- parmesan cheese optional
Instructions
For the pesto:
- Combine the spinach, arugula, garlic, and almonds in a food processor and pulse until blended. With the food processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube and process until the pesto is thoroughly combined and smooth. Add the Parmesan and pulse until well combined. Season with salt and add the crushed red pepper flakes if using. Remove from the food processor and set aside.
For the pasta:
- Using a large saute pan or mixing bowl, combine the cooked, drained pasta with spinach pesto. Mix together until all of the pasta is nicely coated with the pesto and add a light drizzle of olive oil if needed. Add in the roasted asparagus and gently mix together again. Squeeze the juice from 1/2 a lemon, and sprinkle with sliced almonds and garnish with some freshly grated parmesan if desired. Serve and enjoy!
Click here for the Roasted Asparagus with Lemon recipe.
Posts this week that I’ve loved reading:
- Anna’s Beets and Berries Smoothie. I’m making this today! Smoothies, here I come! And I want to see a difference with my complexion!
- Melanie’s post about TheWhole30 ok, where have I been? Who is doing this and who’s had success with this? Why can I not have greek yogurt, peas, chickpeas, lentils or tofu?!! Thinking of doing a modified version of this. If anyone has read the book, It Starts with Food, I’d love to hear from you!
- Amanda’s post on How to Quit Sugar which got me thinking. .
This looks so healthy and delicious. I´m building on my healthy recipe ideas for at home dinners and this fits perfectly 🙂 Happy weekend!
Pesto and pasta can’t be beat! I love them unconditionally, I really do.
Gorgeous with asparagus Alice! You get extra points for marathon training and a second helping of this pasta too!
What a beautiful spring dish. Anything with asparagus is good with me 🙂 Have a great weekend!
I love pesto – this sounds delicious! Loving asparagus at the moment! Looks divine! 😀
Alright…I was doing okay until that last picture…then, forget about it…perfect plate of pasta! Oh my, it’s only breakfast time but I could gobble the entire dish! Have a great weekend, Alice!
GOOD FOR YOU for training even if you’re not running the actual race! THat takes even more dedication, in my opinion. 😛 Oh how i love how GREEN this pasta is. Makes my heart happy.
The pasta is indeed gorgeous! I love pesto in general, but the lemony asparagus addition to this version is making my mouth water. Thanks for sharing, and I hope you have an awesome weekend!! 🙂
Holy cow girl, you can make some mean pastas! This lemon pesto combo is killer.
This pasta looks fresh and delicious Alice, just perfect! Finally got some asparagus and will be making it for dinner today 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
This pasta is right up my alley, love the lemon, love all the fresh green! As for running, I am super impressed…walking on the treadmill is more my speed 🙂
I adore pesto pasta! This is one fantastic dish, Alice! Thank you for the link up to my smoothie post!
I love spinach pesto! It’s perfect for spring when I don’t yet have fresh basil in my garden. So much green goodness in this meal. Good luck with training! That is so sweet of you to train with your friend.
I think this pasta was meant for me because it contains all of my favorite ingredients! Absolutely love this, Alice! Such a great idea to combine lemons and pesto. So flavorful! Pinned!
I love asparagus! This pesto pasta sounds so flavorful and delicious.
Pasta is my all-time food love. And THIS is gorgeous, seriously one of the prettiest pastas I’ve seen in a looong time! So simple, but fresh and DEE-lish!
What amazing spring flavours in this pasta!
This pasta looks incredible, Alice! I am drooling over all that gorgeous green! Love spinach pesto especially with arugula and the asparagus is just perfect! Good luck with training! So sweet of you to support your friend even though you’re not running! Happy happy Friday! 🙂
I am amazed that you’ve ran a half marathon. I am not a runner at ALL so any time I hear of long distance runners, I can barely wrap my mind around it. I’m a walker. I love going on long walks with my dogs in the hills behind our house. This pasta is wonderful! Bet you can use those extra carbs with all the running you’ll be doing. And I could eat pesto every day too : )
Go girl!! I’ve always wanted to do a half marathon, but maybe I need to make it my goal this year! I adore pesto pasta and it’s one of the few things my fiance and I can agree on for dinner, love it! Have a great weekend love!
Yay! I always love to hear when people are training for a race! You are such a good friend to train with someone even though you can’t run in the actual race. This pasta looks like the perfect way to refuel after a long run!
Alice – way to go still training – whether or not you are running the actual half marathon! Running needs fuel – and this sounds like premium quality fuel as far as I am concerned! I am drooling at that pesto and lemon combo!
This couldn’t get me into more a spring-y mood if I spring boarded off into a pot of it!! I love this, so fresh!
Good for you for being such an avid runner! I couldn’t run to save my life 😉 Don’t get me wrong, I love being active, I’m just no good at running. In any event, this dish looks and sound fantastic – like spring on a plate! I used swim competitively, and I always had a big plate of pasta the night before. I love that you’ve used spinach in the pesto to get all those wonderful added health benefits too! A Perfect dish for training!
this looks so good – so perfect for Spring and absolutely delicious! great recipe!
Mary
Loving this pasta, Alice! Pesto makes everything so tasty. And I LOVE that you linked to some of your favorite reads of the week! I read so many blogs all the time, I love the idea that you are sharing some of your favorites. As for the Whole30 thing… I haven’t done this but I’m familiar with a lot of various diets and why certain things are “off limits.” The following information is not MY personal opinion but just me regurgitating things I have read. Cutting out peas, lentils, and chickpeas would pull from Paleo thinking that beans and legumes contain lechitins (sp?) which leech nutrition from your body and are supposedly toxic depending on what resources you are reading. Tofu would be off-limits because some people think soy raises estrogen levels and is inherently GMO. Greek yogurt contains dairy which is also considered evil in many dietary circles. Peanuts would fall into the category of legumes but all other nuts are fine. I have done the Paleo diet and it made me feel, I am not exaggerating, like I could fly. But there is no room for a cheat day for me and it was hard to sustain, but I did feel awesome. So. Good luck with whatever you want to do. 🙂
Wow, thank you Meggan!!!
This looks like a perfect springtime meal! Good luck with he training Alice!
You are amazing, Alice! Running a marathon is a huge accomplishment – I’m so excited for you. An this pasta is a triple threat: gorgeous, delicious, healthy!
Looks delicious! Love pesto and this pasta dish looks great – yum!!!
Pesto is the current go to sauce in the Heggins crib, and this is looking super yum! Good luck with the marathon! I’m signed up to run (more likely speed-walking) a 5K tomorrow…no training at all…that should be interesting! :/
I love spinach pesto, too, and I’ve been living off of asparagus lately! This is my kind of meal, Alice — delicious!
This is my fave meal! I love lemony pasta with green goodness 🙂 Pinning!
That looks fantastic! I had to laugh when I saw this though, I made pasta with spinach pesto and asparagus for supper tonight – it must be spring!
Stunning pasta, Alice! I love the springy green color—it looks like we’re finally warming up. Whew. I’m SO glad you’ll be at EWR—it’s going to be a blast!!! xo
You are so motivated dear!!! Have fun with the training. This pesto pasta is da bomb! Looks amazing!!
That pesto is gorgeous, what a perfect spring pasta!
This pasta is so fresh and perfect for Spring! LOVE pesto!
Okay, I’ve been meaning to make my own pesto for a while now! This looks too good!
Yum – that pesto looks SO delicious!! And even perfect with the pasta!! 🙂
Pesto + Pasta is without a doubt one of the best combinations- So good! Perfect green addition of the asparagus! Yum!
Can I come over for dinner? You’ve put all my favorite veggies in one place with pasta! And it looks seriously gorgeous Honestly, this is what I want right now, and it’s only 9 AM!
I’ve been meaning to make some pesto lately, this pasta looks like a great way to use it too! Love how fresh this dish looks too, so beautiful.
Congrats on your running training! I’m very impressed that you’re training even without running the actual half-marathon! Pesto and asparagus sounds like a winning combo to me! YUM!
Yayyyyy! Congrats on taking a big step, Alice! It’s gonna be a fun healthy journey and this lemony pesta pasta….delish!
This looks so delicious! I have a huge jar of freshly made pesto I need to use up and this is perfect.
I’m envious of your running skills – I dream of running a half marathon. Back in my Stanford days, a ton of my friends did the half and full SF marathons and they tried to coerce me. One day….one day.
Bravo! I am clapping over here! Congrats to you, I will be cheering for you! Also this pasta, heck yes!
This recipe makes me SO happy! It confirms that indeed spring is here and warmer, nicer weather is coming!! This sounds like the perfect meal to enjoy on the outdoor patio 🙂
You basically just took a handful of my favorite things, combined them, and took photos that are literally making my mouth water. Pinning this now.
haha, thanks Kit!!
June 27th is a WONDERFUL day to run your first marathon. It’s my birthday! This dish looks fab. Can’t get enough asparagus in my life!
Definitely hard…whole 30. I think next time I’ll just go for no sugar. No carbs was extremely hard for me!
Can’t wait to hear if you try no sugar.
I love pesto – this sounds delicious! Loving asparagus at the moment! Looks divine!