Lemon Pepper Linguine with Asparagus Pesto
By: Chef Oscar Lippe
Published: Thursday, May 31, 2012 - 2:18pm

Ingredients




2 pounds of Chef Lippe’s Lemon pepper linguine
2 bunches of asparagus, cut into pieces
4 cloves of garlic
½ cup almonds toasted
1 cup parmesan cheese
1 pinch of garlic roasted sea salt
½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Preparation

1 •	Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook asparagus water until crisp-tender about 3 minutes. Remove asparagus from water and dry (save to cook pasta in) 2 •	Once asparagus is cooled transfer to food processor, add garlic, almonds, cheese, salt and pepper and oil. Blend until pesto consistency. 3 •	Let cool 4 •	Cook pasta al dente, drain and toss with pesto. 5 •	Serve room temperature or hot.

About

Here is a light lunch that is healthy and tastes good. Here are some interesting facts about asparagus:
•	The Indian name for asparagus is Shatavari (she who possesses a hundred husbands)
•	Is high in fiber (easier to eat than a fiber supplement)
•	Helps to detoxify the liver
•	Is high in glutathione (powerful antioxidant)
•	Excellent source of B vitamins, which help manage blood sugar
•	Excellent source of vitamin K, important for bone health
Do you like yours thick or thin?
I like mine thicker and my mother likes hers thin. I personally think the thicker ones are sweeter and find the thin ones stringier. Usually the thicker stalks come from the male plant and the thin ones from a female plant (multi-tasking by producing seeds gives the plant less time to grow thicker stalks).  The same as with humans, big strong males and smaller females. 
As with most things there are two sides to every argument, decision etc. The same with asparagus, those of us who get the asparagus pee and those who don’t. In either case it is not harmful and does away soon and certainly not worth giving up the wonderful flavor.