Here at Elastic Waist, we have something of a girl crush on 101 Cookbooks' Heidi Swanson for making whole, healthful foods look totally luscious. After preparing the super simple Straw and Hay Fettucine Tangle with Spring Asparagus Purée from her new cookbook Super Natural Cooking, I learned there's more to Heidi's recipes than just good looks and nutritional pow. You may never make pesto again.  --Sarah McColl

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Straw and Hay Fettucine Tangle with Spring Asparagus Purée

Spring Asparagus Purée
1 bunch of asparagus spears, trimmed and halved crosswise
3 handfuls baby spinach leaves
2 cloves garlic
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
1 cup toasted pine nuts
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for topping
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt

4 oz. dried spinach fettuccine, or 6 oz. fresh
4 oz. dried egg fettuccine, or 6 oz. fresh

Bring two pots of water to a rolling boil, one large and one medium.  You'll use the large one to cook the pasta and the medium one to blanch the asparagus.

To make the asparagus purée, salt the asparagus water and drop the spears into the pot. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes, or until the spears are bright green and barely tender. Drain and transfer to a food processor.  Add the spinach, garlic, the 1 cup Parmesan, and 3/4 cup of the pine nuts. Purée and, with the motor running, drizzle in the 1/4 cup olive oil until a paste forms. It should be the loose consistency of a pesto; if too thick, thin it with a bit of the pasta water. Add the lemon juice and salt, then taste and adjust the seasoning.

Salt the pasta water well and cook the pasta until just tender; you'll need less time for fresh pasta, more for dried. Drain and toss immediately with 1 cup of the asparagus purée, stirring in more afterward depending on how heavily coated you like your pasta. Serve sprinkled with the remaining 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts, a dusting of Parmesan, and a quick drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.

Serves 4 to 6

Reprinted with permission from Super Natural Cooking: Five Ways to Incorporate Whole & Natural Ingredients Into Your Cooking by Heidi Swanson. Photography by Heidi Swanson. Copyright 2007. Published by Celestial Arts.