Fresh Summer Pasta Recipe: Lemon Pepper Pappardelle with Artichoke Pesto & Asparagus

Summer is almost here, and as the daylight lingers outside, this luscious, lemony pasta is sunshine in a bowl. Pappardelle is a ribbony sort of pasta noodle that can carry more of the artichoke pesto with each forkful. The word origin for pappardelle,in Italian, means, as you may find yourself doing once you taste this dish.
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Summer is almost here, and as the daylight lingers outside, this luscious, lemony pasta is sunshine in a bowl. Pappardelle is a ribbony sort of pasta noodle that can carry more of the artichoke pesto with each forkful. The word origin for pappardelle, pappare, in Italian, means to devour, as you may find yourself doing once you taste this dish.

This vegetarian recipe is quite Californian -- bountiful with artichokes, olives and lemons. (For a vegan version, just omit the cheese in the pesto and grated topping.) And here's a little secret: you can go crazy with the olives. Make no excuses when adding juicy olives to this pasta dish, you can add as many as you like. Olive tapenade can also be mixed in with the pesto if you are an olive lover. Serve with a crisp Sauvignon Blanc, fruity Riesling or zesty Pinot Grigio, as any of these wines pair well and make summery dining alfresco the perfect thing out on your patio.

I created this recipe for New School of Cooking as a featured recipe for their blog. New School of Cooking is an artisan cooking school in Los Angeles.

Lemon Pepper Pappardelle with Artichoke Pesto and Asparagus
Serves: 4

Ingredients
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and washed
2 medium lemons, zest and juice
12 oz marinated artichoke hearts
1 ¼ cups extra virgin olive oil
8 oz (227 g) dried lemon pepper papardelle
3 oz green olives, pitted and sliced
7 oz olive tapenade
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for plating
½ cup pine nuts (substitute toasted pumpkin seeds)
handful of basil leaves (substitute spinach)
2 teaspoons sea salt, plus more for seasoning
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
1 sliced radish, for garnish

Directions
Make Ahead: Artichoke Pesto
Make ahead: artichoke pesto: In a high-speed blender, pour in half of the artichokes from the jar with the oily marinade liquid, and add 1 cup of olive oil, juice from 1 lemon, ½ cup Parmesan, ½ cup pine nuts (substitute toasted pumpkin seeds if nut allergy), handful of basil leaves (or baby spinach). Pulse and blend to medium smooth consistency. Season with sea salt and black pepper to taste. This can be made ahead and kept in refrigerator for up to two weeks. Keep the artichoke pesto out to room temperature before mixing into the pasta so it can incorporate well.

Asparagus
Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Add asparagus to baking sheet and toss with a drizzle of olive oil, sea salt and black pepper. Top with a few slices of lemon and bake for about 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and chop into 2 inch pieces. Set aside.

Pasta
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Grate the zest of the lemons and set the zest aside. Halve 1 of the 2 lemons (save the second zested lemon for lemon juice in artichoke pesto).

Sear the lemon halves face down on a slightly oiled pan--- cast iron works well. The oily artichoke marinade from the jar is great to use as it lends the flavor of artichoke to the lemon. Sear the lemons until both cut sides are browned, about 3 minutes per lemon. Remove the lemon slices from pan and juice them when cool.

Add the papardelle pasta to the pot and cook until al dente.
Drain and toss lightly with artichoke pesto.

Drizzle the seared lemon juice and a little more artichoke pesto all over the pasta and incorporate.

Gently toss the papardelle with parmesan, olive tapenade, green olives, asparagus, lemon zest, grated black pepper, basil ribbons, and garnish with sliced radish.

For more recipes from New School of Cooking, take a peek in their kitchen and check out their classes if you're in the Los Angeles area. They offer professional series courses and weekend culinary instruction with some of LA's crème de la crème chefs such as Chef Jet TIla and Chef Sonoko Sakai. Follow New School of Cooking on Twitter: @NewSchoolofCook

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