This quick and easy recipe for pan fried asparagus on pesto hummus with dill oil and dukkah makes a delicious vegetable side dish or a light vegetarian main. If you have hummus and basil pesto on hand this healthy asparagus dish comes together in as little as ten minutes and while we use homemade hummus and pesto, you could use store-bought.
My favourite kind of vegetable side dish is one that involves piling crispy, just-cooked, fresh vegetables onto a bed of potato mash, or homemade hummus or butter bean dip, and sprinkling the lot with something crunchy. If you like those sorts of veggie sides as much as I do, you’ll love this pan fried asparagus on pesto hummus with dill oil and dukkah.
I adore dishes such as our grilled baby corn on creamy butter beans with pistachios and roasted cauliflower on hummus with crispy chickpeas. So every chance I get I’ll spread some hummus or butter bean dip onto a plate, heap some stir-fried or pan-roasted vegetables on top and shower the lot with dukkah, sesame seeds, crushed nuts, or crispy shallots.
If that’s your idea of a great vegetable side dish – or even a vegetable main course if you prefer light vegetable-driven dishes – then you’re going to love this pan fried asparagus on pesto hummus with dill oil and dukkah. And if you’re a fan of asparagus, see my recipe for asparagus, mushroom, bacon and parmesan gnocchi.
Pesto lover? Try our recipes for pesto gnocchi with homemade pesto alla Genovese, my basil pesto pasta with potatoes and beans (the pesto dish I fell for on our first trip to Genoa, but made with fusilli instead of trofie), my pesto spaghetti and meatballs with peas and broccoli, a pesto potato salad, our pesto scrambled eggs, my cherry tomato burrata salad with asparagus, basil pesto and dukkah, this broccoli pasta with a creamy broccoli pesto sauce, and my Southeast Asian pesto.
Pan Fried Asparagus on Pesto Hummus with Dill Oil and Dukkah
When I spotted a big box of beautiful fresh asparagus yesterday I couldn’t resist buying a couple of bunches of asparagus. I had a mortar full of dukkah that I’d pounded the day before, some leftover homemade hummus I needed to use, and some basil pesto left from this pesto gnocchi recipe I shared with you all.
I emailed Terence who suggested a dish. My husband is a human recipe app! Terence knows I love laying just-cooked vegetables on a bed of hummus or similar spread and sprinkling the lot with something crunchy, such as the grilled baby corn on creamy butter beans with pistachios and the roasted cauliflower on hummus with crispy chickpeas I mentioned above.
So I followed the recipe Terence proposed, tweaking it along the way. I added a little of the leftover basil pesto to the hummus, transforming it from a cream coloured hummus to a pale green. This is what I came up with and my mother absolutely adored it, so I thought I’d share the recipe.
Tips to Making this Pan Fried Asparagus on Pesto Hummus with Dill Oil and Dukkah
This recipe for pan fried asparagus on pesto hummus with dill oil and dukkah is so easy it barely needs a recipe. As I had the hummus, basil pesto and dukkah to hand (links to all recipes above) I was able to make this dish in less than ten minutes.
If you don’t have hummus, basil pesto and dukkah at the ready, you’ll need to make those first. You’ll find links to all of those above and in the recipe. Of course you can use store-bought hummus, basil pesto and dukkah but the reason I prefer to make my own is because they’re all full of so many preservatives and so on.
Once you’ve got your hummus, basil pesto and dukkah – whether homemade or store-bought – all you need to do is combine the hummus and a teaspoon of basil pesto in a small bowl and stir to combine well. Make sure to taste it and adjust if needed by adding more pesto if you wish to suit your palate.
Next, you need to divide the hummus between your plates, piling the basil hummus onto the centre of each plate and using the back of a tablespoon to swirl and spread out the hummus to create a base for your vegetables.
Once that’s done, in a small dish, you need to combine the extra virgin olive oil and chopped fresh dill to create the dill oil. Keep in mind that while I’ve used dill because I absolutely adore dill you could actually use your favourite fresh herb or whatever fresh herb you have on hand.
Next you need to cut the tough ends off your asparagus spears, add the olive oil to your pan over medium-high heat, and when the oil is hot, add the asparagus spears.
I love to sprinkle over some sea salt, but you could really use any favourite seasoning, such as ground onion or pepper. After a couple of minutes, use tongs to turn the asparagus spears or shake the pan to toss them to fry the other side of the asparagus for another couple of minutes.
Lastly, use your tongs to transfer the asparagus spears to your plates, lay them out onto the basil hummus you spread on the plates, then drizzle on the aromatic dill oil and shower the plate with crunchy dukkah. I like to sprinkle on some fresh dill at the end, then serve immediately. Enjoy!
Pan Fried Asparagus on Pesto Hummus with Dill Oil and Dukkah
Equipment
Ingredients
- Hummus - see our recipe here
- 2 tsp basil pesto - divided, see our recipe here
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp fresh dill - roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 12 asparagus spears
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 2 tbsp dukkah - see our recipe here
Instructions
- To a small bowl, add the hummus and a teaspoon of basil pesto and stir well to combine. Taste and add more pesto if you like to suit your palate.
- Divide the hummus between serving plates, piling the hummus onto the centre of each plate and using the back of a tablespoon to swirl and spread out the hummus to create a base.
- In a small dish, combine the extra virgin olive oil and chopped fresh dill and set aside.
- Chop the tough ends off the asparagus spears, add the olive oil to a pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the asparagus spears, sprinkle over the sea salt, leave alone to fry for two minutes, then either use tongs to turn the asparagus spears or shake the pan to toss and fry the other side of the spears for another two minutes.
- Use tongs to transfer the asparagus spears to the plates, laying them out on the basil hummus. Drizzle on the dill oil and sprinkle a tablespoon of dukkah onto each plate, then serve immediately.
Nutrition
Please do let us know if you make our pan fried asparagus on pesto hummus with dill oil and dukkah as we’d love to know how it turns out for you.
