Creamy Raw Asparagus Pesto

• 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted (or substitute pine nuts)
• 1 medium clove garlic, quartered
• 1/4 cup tightly packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 pound asparagus, rinsed and tough ends removed
• 1/4 cup diced red onion
• 2 ounces shredded Pecorino Romano (about 1 cup)
• 6 ounces fresh whole milk ricotta (about 3/4 cup)
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
• 1/8 teaspoon table salt, plus more to taste

1. Place walnuts in bowl of food processor and pulse several times to coarsely chop. Add garlic and parsley and pulse several times to combine. Drizzle in olive oil while pulsing several more times. Scrape sides of bowl and pulse a few more times. Mixture should be pretty homogenous, with no large chunks of nuts or garlic.
2. Cut asparagus stalks into about 1-inch pieces and add to bowl of food processor. Add diced onion as well. Pulse several times to combine. Asparagus will be coarsely chopped at this point. Scrape sides of bowl.
3. Add Pecorino, ricotta, pepper, and salt. Pulse until thoroughly combined, scraping down bowl as needed. Transfer to serving container, taste, and stir in additional salt or pepper if needed. Spread on crusty bread or use as a dip for grissini or pita chips.
4. To use as a pasta sauce: Cook pasta as directed on package in well-salted water. Drain pasta, reserving about 2/3 cup of cooking water. Return pasta to pot and mix pesto and 1/3 cup of the cooking water in. Add more cooking water and/or olive oil if needed. Divide into bowls and garnish with some shaved Pecorino.

walnuts, clove garlic, tightly packed flatleaf parsley, extravirgin olive oil, red onion, pecorino romano, milk ricotta, freshly ground black pepper, salt

Taken from food52.com/recipes/10461-creamy-raw-asparagus-pesto (may not work)