Whole wheat spaghetti with rocket pesto, asparagus, peas and goat’s cheese

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Valeria's stunning asparagus spaghetti recipe is served with a peppery rocket pesto, fresh goat's cheese and peas for a beautifully fresh pasta dish.

First published in 2017

Everything about this pasta dish shouts ‘spring’, from the many shades of green to the seasonal array of ingredients, which counts peas, asparagus and goat’s cheese.

Flavours are delicate and fresh, in line with the season. However, they are enhanced by the mild pepperiness of the rocket pesto, which acts as a backbone for the ensemble – it gives it personality – but also as the binding element that brings it all together.

If you’re in a hurry, you can swap the rocket pesto for the more common basil pesto. As for the vegetables, if you’d like to change things up, rest assured that broad beans, fine beans and snow peas will work just as well as the garden peas.

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Rocket pesto

For the pasta

Method

1
Start by making the rocket pesto. Place all the ingredients, minus the oil, into the container of an immersion blender (or into a regular blender). Pour in the oil in a thin stream, blending all the while. Carry on blending until you have a smooth pesto. (If you see that you’ll need more oil to get there, go for it.) Transfer the pesto to a bowl, cover with cling film and keep refrigerated until ready to use
2
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Blanch the peas and asparagus for 30 seconds, just so as they lose their crudeness. Drain with a slotted spoon and plunge into iced water to halt the cooking. Drain, pat dry, and set aside
3
Let the water come back to a rolling boil and add the spaghetti. Cook until al dente, drain and add to a large, warm serving bowl. Add the asparagus, peas and pesto and toss until evenly coated
4
Serve the spaghetti with some extra rocket leaves and the crumbled goat’s cheese on top

Valeria Necchio is an Italian food writer and photographer with roots in the Venetian countryside.

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