Summer entertaining means pulling out pre-made gourmet extras from the freezer, and pesto is usually one of them. Pesto- (meaning paste) is  a no-brainer for pasta, or is great drizzled on sliced  mozarella cheese.  This recipe for asparagus pesto is a fresh twist on pasta-in-tupperware on the beach,  served on veggies as a side dish for barbeque (omit the cheese if serving meat), and as Mark Bittman suggests, you can even spread it on fish.

This recipe is quick in preparation.

Make and freeze in ice cube trays or flatten in baggies in the freezer.

watch the video Here

adapted from the New York Times

RECIPE

Asparagus Pesto

Published: May 7, 2010

Time: 20 minutes

• Salt
• 1 pound asparagus, peeled, trimmed, and cut into 2-inch segments
• 1 clove garlic, or more to taste
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1/4 cup olive oil, or more as desired
• 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Juice of 1/2 lemon, or to taste.

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Add the asparagus and cook until fully tender but not mushy, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain well, reserving some of the cooking liquid, and let the asparagus cool slightly.

2. Transfer the asparagus to a food processor and add the garlic, pine nuts, 2 tablespoons of the oil, Parmesan, a pinch of salt and a couple of tablespoons of the cooking liquid. Process the mixture, stopping to scrape down the sides of the container if necessary, and gradually add the remaining oil and a bit more of the reserved cooking liquid to moisten if necessary. Add the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste, pulse one last time, and serve over pasta, fish or chicken (or cover and refrigerate for up to a day).

Yield: 4 to 6 servings (about 1 1/2 cups).