Cilantro Pesto Sauce

1)  Bring a medium pot of water to boil. Place mint and cilantro leaves in small colander and place in boiling water to boil leaves for about 2-3 minutes.

2)  Remove from boiling water and quickly shock leaves by submerging colander in an ice bath.

3)  Once leaves are cool, remove from colander and drain excess water, reserve and place in food processor or blender.

4)  To the blender or food processor add the garlic, Los Altos Queso Cotija, toasted pine nuts, half the extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.

5)  Blend to a fine puree add the rest of the olive oil.

Note: Recipe yields about 1 ½ cups to 2 cups of cilantro pesto sauce.

Building the Pasta Dish

1)  To begin cooking dish, in a large sauté pan over medium heat add 2T of butter.

2)  When butter begins to bubble add diced shallots, tomatoes and garlic. Cook until shallots and tomatoes are tender and when garlic is aromatic.

3)  Meanwhile, coat asparagus with olive oil and season with salt. Grill on high, at 350°-400°F, until fully marked by grill and tender, about 5 minutes. Remove asparagus from grill and cut the tips from the stalk.

4)  Cut the stalk of asparagus into rounds, reserve.

5)  Once shallot mixture is tender, add cooked fideos, grilled asparagus rounds and 1 ½ cups of cilantro pesto sauce. Mix thoroughly and cook until mixture is warm. If the sauce mixture is too thick add chicken stock or water to make sauce more sauce-like in consistency.

6)  Plate and garnish with crumbled Los Altos Queso Cotija Enchilado and grilled asparagus tips.