Pasta with green asparagus

Asparagus pesto with pine nuts and candied lemon

Especially during asparagus season (mid to late April to late June), the green spears are the ideal accompaniment to pasta dishes. Together with pine nuts and lemons, they offer a fresh dish for warm summer days.

Green asparagus:

• 10 green asparagus

• 1 yellow lemon

• Olive oil

• Salt, pepper from Espelette pimento

Snap off the woody part of the asparagus and set aside to prepare the pesto. Cut off the top of the asparagus and save for later. Thinly slice the body of the asparagus.

Cook the fine slices of asparagus in boiling salted water for 2 minutes. Drain and save for further processing.

Heat a pan with olive oil over high heat. Fry the asparagus and season with salt. As soon as the heads are brown on all sides, pour in the juice of one lemon and roll the asparagus in this juice, season with pepper and reduce by half. Remove the asparagus tips and leave the juice in the pan, this will be used to finish the pasta.

Green Asparagus Pesto:

• Lower part of the green asparagus

• 20 g of pine nuts

• 5 sun-dried tomatoes

• 7 pitted green olives

• 1 g of candied lemon

• 1 clove of garlic

• 10 grams of basil

• 5g Golden Chlorella

• 30 ml dried tomato oil

Cook the green asparagus spears in a saucepan of boiling salted water for 10 minutes. They must be very soft.

Place the asparagus, sundried tomatoes, olives, garlic, basil, golden chlorella, candied lemon and half the olive oil in a blender. Blend for 30 seconds, breaking up the pieces a bit. Then add the pine nuts, mix again quickly and mix in the remaining olive oil.

Season with salt and pepper.

Finishing and Dressing:

• 150 g Alver protein-rich fusilli

• 5 olives, sliced

• 10 g toasted pine nuts

•  Lemon peel

• 10 g arugula

Bring a saucepan of salted water to a boil and cook the fusilli for 4 minutes.

Drain and add to the frying pan with the cooking juices from the asparagus tips. Add the green asparagus slices that have just been blanched and thicken with a spoonful of asparagus pesto. Heat on a low flame.

Arrange the asparagus noodles in a deep plate and place the green asparagus tips on top. Garnish with the rocket leaves, chopped olives, pine nuts and lemon zest and finish with a nice dollop of pesto.

Red pesto pasta

During weekdays, we often crave a light, nutritious, and quick meal for lunch. Pasta dishes are ideal for this because they are al dente in just a few minutes. Since pasta can be enjoyed hot with sauces or cold as a salad, there are numerous serving options. A homemade pesto, for example, goes perfectly with Alver’s protein-rich pasta.

Ingredients:

1⁄2 cup sundried tomatoes, drained and chopped

3 cups fresh basil leaves (loosely wrapped)

3-4 fresh garlic cloves

1/2 tsp golden chlorella

1⁄2 cup pine nuts or walnuts

1⁄2 cup olive oil

1⁄2 tsp salt

black pepper

In a food processor, blend the tomatoes, basil leaves, and garlic. Add golden chlorella, nuts and 1/4 cup olive oil; mix well.

Then add the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil, salt and pepper; mix well again. Store in the fridge or separate evenly into ice cube trays and freeze. Use the pesto with pasta dishes, such as Alver Protein Pasta (Penne or Fussili).

Penne with Mushrooms

Serves 2 people

Penne with mushrooms is a quick and healthy meal. Alver’s high-protein penne taste like the pasta you know and love. They are made in Switzerland from durum wheat semolina, mung beans, golden chlorella and water. Rich in protein (20%), zinc, vitamins B1 and B2, they are quickly prepared and form the basis for many delicious, healthy pasta recipes.

Ingredients:

250 g Alver protein penne

2 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion

1 clove of garlic

200 grams of mushrooms

1 pinch chili flakes

Handful of basil

First, bring salted water to a boil in a large saucepan. Next, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Dice the onion and garlic clove and slice the mushrooms. Put the olive oil in the pan, sauté the onion and garlic. Once the onions are soft, add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt and pepper and cook for about 4 minutes.

Once the salted water is bubbling, add Alver Protein Penne and cook according to package directions.

Stir mushrooms in pan and simmer for 2 more minutes. If desired, add chili flakes. Set aside a cup of the starchy pasta water and drain the pasta. Immediately add the hot penne to the mushroom pan. Remove the pan from the stove and mix everything together. Add the reserved pasta water until the sauce reaches the desired consistency. Add the fresh basil leaves and serve.

Penne with a bell pepper sauce

Serves 4 people

Especially when you are short on time, pasta dishes are ideal. A fine, homemade bell pepper sauce gives the penne that something extra – easy and quick to prepare.

Ingredients:

400g Alver Penne

2 red peppers

200 grams of tomatoes

1 chili

2 cloves of garlic

100 g soy yoghurt

1 tbsp olive oil

Preheat the oven to 200°.

Halve the bell peppers and place skin-side up on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake the bell peppers for 20 minutes.

Then remove the skin and blend together with the remaining ingredients in a blender until smooth.

Cook the penne “al dente” in boiling salted water and serve with the pepperoni sauce.

Sweet potato gnocchi

Pesto Calabrese with candied artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes

The sweet potato originally comes from the tropical regions of South America. With an annual harvest of around 92 million tons (as of 2018), it is in third place in the world production of root and tuber food plants, after potatoes and cassava. Sweet potatoes can be used in many ways, for example as fine gnocchi.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi:

  • 300 g sweet potatoes
  • 60 g corn
  • 60 g wheat flour
  • Salt, pepper, nutmeg

Put whole sweet potatoes with the skins in a saucepan and fill with water until the sweet potatoes are completely covered. Cook the sweet potatoes until tender. When they are hot, peel and puree the potatoes until smooth. Add flour, cornstarch, salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste. Process everything into a smooth, non-sticky dough.

Let the dough rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. On a floured work surface, shape the dough into thick strips and cut into pieces about 1 cm in size. Cut small balls 1 cm in length to get the shape you want.

Pesto Calabrese:

  • 400 g paprika
  • 200 g dried tomatoes
  • 30 g basil
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 60 g whole almonds
  • 75 ml of olive oil
  • 5 g golden chlorella
  • Salt, pepper, pimento d’Espelette

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and cook the peppers for about 30-40 minutes until they are soft. Wrap in aluminum foil and let cool. Then remove the skin and seeds from the peppers.

Put the peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and basil in a blender. Mix and drizzle in half of the oil. Add the whole almonds and mix again, adding the last part of the oil and golden chlorella. Season to taste and save for the dressing.

Garnish:

  • 6 artichokes
  • Olive oil, bay leaf, thyme, orange peel

To prepare the artichokes: remove the large leaves by hand, then turn the artichoke on itself with a small knife and gradually remove the leaves until you reach the very tender leaves in the center. Cut off the top of the artichoke and remove the hay (the leafy part in the center of the artichoke), leaving the bottom 2 cm free.

Then heat the olive oil to 80 degrees, add the herbs and artichokes and cook for 45 minutes until they are soft

Completion and dressing:

  • 10 dried tomatoes cut into thin strips
  • 50 g rocket

Bring a saucepan of salted water to a boil and cook the gnocchi for 2 minutes (they should rise to the surface).

Drain the gnocchi, then fry them in a pan with a little olive oil. Finally, add a large tablespoon of pesto and the candied artichokes, which are cut into 6 pieces. Put a spoonful of pesto on the bottom of the plate, place the fried gnocchi and artichokes in a deep plate. Place the rocket leaves and sun-dried tomatoes on top.

Vegan Tex Mex Nourish Bowl

For 4 people

The Vegan Tex Mex Nourish Bowl is a versatile vegan dish that uses walnuts to create “taco-style meat”. The bowl can be served with a selection of raw vegetables, a salsa made from roasted tomatoes, cooked quinoa and a golden chlorella dressing. The recipe was developed in collaboration with Christine Bailey, an award-winning nutritional therapist, chef, writer and broadcaster with over 18 years of experience.

Ingredients:

  • 120 g soaked walnuts
  • 8 chopped sun-dried tomatoes
  • 1 teaspoon paprika powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • ½ teaspoon of garlic salt
  • 20 g of golden chlorella
  • Salad
  • Quinoa
  • Vegetables of your choice
  • Tomato salsa

Dressing:

  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • Basil leaves
  • Parsley
  • Tarragon
  • Chives
  • 1 tbsp golden chlorella
  • 200 g of plant-based yogurt

Cook the quinoa for four people according to the instructions on the packet.

Meanwhile, for the vegan taco meat, put the soaked walnuts, chopped tomatoes, paprika powder, cumin, garlic salt and golden chlorella in a bowl or mixer and mix well. For the dressing, place all the herbs in a blender. Then add the pressed garlic clove, apple cider vinegar, golden chlorella and the vegetable yogurt. Mix well again. Arrange the salad, quinoa and vegan taco meat in a plate. Then add vegetables of your choice, e.g. corn, avocado and paprika, as well as tomato salsa. Pour the dressing over and serve.