Asparagus and Courgette Pesto Salad

Published by

Jasmine

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Today I’m sharing a fresh and fragrant salad for spring featuring asparagus, which I always enjoy when it’s in season! You can enjoy this as a side forming part a larger meal, but I personally really enjoy having a bigger portion of this for lunch.

INGREDIENTS

Pesto:

Parmigiano Reggiano (or any other Italian hard cheese / rennet-free alternative)

Extra-virgin olive oil

Garlic

Pine nuts

Fresh basil

Salad:

Giant couscous

Asparagus

Courgette

Rocket

Butter beans (pre-cooked – canned or jarred)

Feta

Parsley

Lemon juice

TIPS & NOTES

If you’re busy, you’re more than welcome to use a high-quality pre-made pesto, but I thought I’d show just how quick and easy it is to DIY this condiment. I know it’s not traditional to use a food processor for this, but I find that the basil stays vibrant (and doesn’t heat up and oxidise / lose its fragrance) so long as I just pulse it. Whether or not you make your own pesto; this is a wholesome and filling salad.

Asparagus and Courgette Pesto Salad

  • Servings: 2-3
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Print

A fresh and fragrant pesto salad that’s healthy and tasty

Food processor required, no advance prep needed


Ingredients

  • 100g of dried giant / pearl couscous
  • 1 400g can of butter beans (drained and rinsed)
  • 1 medium courgette (cut into medium slices)
  • 125g of asparagus (snap off the woody ends and cut the spears into c. 5cm chunks)
  • 20g of rocket
  • A small handful (c. 2g) of fresh parsley (de-stemmed and roughly chopped)
  • 40g of feta (crumbled by hand)
  • Juice of 1/2 a lemon
  • 20g of fresh basil
  • 15g of pine nuts
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1-2 tbsp of extra-virgin olive oil
  • 20g of Parmigiano Reggiano (roughly chopped)
  • Salt and pepper to taste


Directions

  1. Boil the kettle and add most of the pine nuts (reserve c. 2g for garnish), basil, 1 tbsp of olive oil, the garlic clove and the Parmigiano Reggiano to a food processor and pulse – add an extra tbsp of olive oil if required and pulse into a paste, season with salt and pepper
  2. In a small lidded saucepan over a medium heat, add a drizzle of olive oil, the giant couscous and a little salt and pepper – toast in the oil for a minute or two before adding 150ml of boiling water and covering to cook for c. 10 minutes (until all the water is absorbed)
  3. In the meantime, in a frying pan over a medium heat – add a little olive oil and then the courgette and asparagus with some salt and pepper then sauté for c. 10 minutes (turning the courgette over halfway through)
  4. When the giant couscous is done – rinse with cold water to remove excess starch
  5. Add the rocket leaves, giant couscous, butter beans, parsley, feta, asparagus and courgette to a salad bowl, squeeze over the lemon juice and spoon over the pesto
  6. Toss everything together to combine and serve topped with the reserved pine nuts

Let me know if you try this spring salad!

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