Asparagus Pesto

Barbecue season is rapidly approaching and while meat is the main event, we can quickly tire of the same old thing. The perfect foil to the star attraction of course are the vegetables. How perfect then is the timing that this is our main local produce season as well ! The Arthur Avenue market is teeming with the largest and freshest variety found anywhere on a consistent basis. Those readers who have previously visited Bellarturo blog and/or Facebook page already know how we love vegetables.
I have experimented with various Pesto combinations. One of my new favorites is a really simple asparagus pesto. It is so delicious on toasted bread, pizza, salad, pasta, potatoes, grilled shrimp and our favorite: grilled chicken breast. We also love this on homemade gnocchi ! Just keep the leftovers, if any, in ajar in the fridge. As always, keep a little olive oil covering the top to keep freshness in and bacteria out. Recipe can easily be doubled.

1 lb asparagus, stems trimmed
5 cloves of garlic
Italian olive oil as needed
4 tablespoons grated parmegiano
Coarse black pepper, ground fresh
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon(or more if you like), finely grated lemon rind
1 teaspoon of capers, optional
3 tablespoons each of fresh basil and parsley, optional

Place asparagus in roasting pan. Coat them with oil and sprinkle very lightly with salt. When soft, cool and place on processor. Add all ingredients, except lemon peel and optional ingredients, and 3 tablespoons of oil. Pulse until fairly smooth , but not runny. Add oil as needed to keep consistency thick but not runny. It should be the texture of a topping. You can always add more oil if you want to use it on pasta. At this point, if you are using the options, add them and pulse again. Then stir in rind and capers and it's ready to serve or mellow in the fridge.