Although I often approach pasta with a very strategic (yet delicious) game plan, sometimes I just need to step away from all the rules and just enjoy a simple, seasonal dish.
Clean and Simple Asparagus Pasta
Ingredients
1 bunch thin asparagus, trimmed and cut into ½ inch pieces
4 oz whole-wheat linguini
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
The zest of one lemon
Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Before adding the pasta you want to blanch the asparagus, so add the asparagus to the pot and allow to cook for two minutes before removing with a slotted spoon. Set the asparagus aside. Once the water comes back to a boil, cook the pasta according to the package be sure to reserve about ½ cup of the pasta water.
In the meantime, heat olive oil in a large non-stick sauté pan over a medium high heat. Add garlic and allow to cook until nice and fragrant (about two minutes).
Toss asparagus into the oil and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about four minutes and then toss the cooked pasta into the pan.
Mix everything together, adding some of the pasta water to add a little extra moisture.
Finish by stirring in the cheese, parsley and lemon zest. Adjust seasonings and enjoy!!
Serves 2.
Nutritional Analysis
Calories: 289; Total Fat: 10.4g; Saturated Fat: 1.9g; Cholesterol: 14mg; Sodium: 81mg; Carbohydrate: 47.7g; Dietary Fiber: 8.6g; Sugars: 2.4g; Protein: 11.6g
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This sounds so amazing! Lately I ‘ve been making dishes with asparagus and homemade gnocchi! I think asparagus brightens up any dish though, especially pasta! Yumm Asparagus is the one produce item that I need to have weekly!
My 5 staples are:
EVOO (I couldn’t agree with you more)
Whole wheat pasta (I grew up Italian too and I cannot get rid of pasta in my diet)
Black beans
Brown rice
Homemade sauce
Another one going on my list!
my staples are:
wholegrain pasta
wholegrain rice
tin of organic whole tomatoes
massel vegetable stock
spices
although after seeing your videos i think the eggwhites will go on the list as soon as i can find a store that sell them.
I love this recipe and your site! My question is when I normally saute the garlic in the oil, it becomes fragrant very fast and starts to brown less than a minute and I have the flame on medium. Should I put the flame lower?
I don’t get that much garlic flavor either.
Thank you for your wonderful videos and recipes!