Asparagus Pesto

I just discovered this recipe in the March issue of Southern Living magazine, and I couldn't wait to try it! Yes, I said March. That's how long it takes me to get through a whole magazine. I can now move on to April. Anyway, this pesto sounded yummy to me, but I was a little leery of how many calories would be in it. I entered it into the calorie calculator and was pleasantly surprised, so I picked up the ingredients at the store this morning.

Asparagus Pesto
1 lb. fresh asparagus
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I cheated and used pre-shredded)
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup olive oil
1 garlic clove
1 tbsp. lemon juice (As I typed this I realized that I left this out. Oops! It still tastes good.)
3/4 tsp. salt

1. Snap off and discard tough ends of asparagus. Chop into 2-inch pieces. Cook in boiling water to cover 3 to 4 minutes. Drain.
2. Plunge asparagus into ice water to stop cooking; drain.
3. Process asparagus and the rest of the ingredients in a food processor until smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary.

Voila! Asparagus pesto. The recipe makes about 2 1/2 cups, so I figured that's about 10 servings at 1/4 cup each. According to the calorie calculator, that's a grand total of 174 calories for the pesto. I added it to a serving of penne pasta for a grand total of 384 for my lunch. (I can't help you if you need to know things like fat grams and fiber and protein and all that mess. I've just been focusing on calories.)

It's good! I promise. Well, you'll like it if you like the taste of asparagus, that is. That little jar doesn't stand a chance in my fridge. It will all be eaten soon. :)