asparagus pasta (vegetarian)

recipe by m-c

just the recipe

what I was looking for

A dish to celebrate asparagus in the middle of winter. I know local eating is the current thing, but I'd like to encourage Chilean farmers to grow asparagus instead of coca. If folks in Afghanistan would grow asparagus instead of opium poppies, I'd buy their asparagus too. In olden days, only kings and queens could eat asparagus in winter.

what I made

The Straw and Hay Fettucine Tangle from Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Cooking (pages 108-109) -- green and white noodles topped with a sauce of asparagus, pine nuts, and cheese.

grades for my version

healthy	B	Plenty of vegetables; on the other hand, white pasta and cheese are treat foods, not everyday foods.
fast	B	If you're organized and you concentrate, you can make the sauce in the time it takes for the pasta water to boil and the pasta to cook.
easy	B	Easy.
cheap	B	Chilean asparagus costs no more in January than local does in June.
delicious	A	Mmmmm.

yield

Heidi's version serves 4-6 as a main dish.

I made the same amount of pasta and changed the proportions of the sauce; for me the dish served 3 (2 for supper and 1 for breakfast the morning after).

I've got to face the fact that figuring 4 ounces of dry pasta per serving (as opposed to Heidi's more reasonable 2 ounces per person) is one of the reasons I have trouble with my weight.

equipment

   microwave

   food processor

the pasta

ingredients	Heidi	m-c	why?
spinach fettucine	4 ounces	4 ounces	no change
egg fettucine	4 ounces	4 ounces	no change

My (excessive) version changes the number of portions from 4-6 to 3, but not the amount of pasta.

Put a large pot of water on the stove and bring it up to a boil.

When the pasta water is boiling, drop all the pasta in and agitate it for a moment so it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot. (I use a long fork or a long pancake turner.)

the asparagus

ingredients	Heidi	m-c	why?
asparagus	1 bunch	1 big bunch ( ¾ pound)	healthier [1]
	trimmed and halved crosswise	snap-trimmed	easier [2]
	trimmings discarded (implied)	trimmings saved for Act 2	cheaper [3]
Notes
[1]	Same amount of veg, half as many portions, so each portion gets twice as many veggies.
[2]	Snapping the asparagus is easier than cutting.
[3]	Asparagus trimmings make wonderful soups and sauces.

   Microwave the trimmed asparagus spears till they are barely tender (about 1 ½ minutes in my microwave).

Cut off the asparagus tips and put them directly next to your serving bowl so you don't forget them when it comes time to garnish the dish.

Cut the remaining asparagus spears in quarters crosswise -- you want to avoid having long fibers strangle your food processor.

(This is about the point when the pasta water will be boiling.)

the sauce

ingredients	Heidi	m-c	why?
pine nuts	1 cup toasted	½ cup toasted	healthier [1]
asparagus	the cut asparagus spears from above	the snapped asparagus spears from above	no change
spinach	3 handfuls baby spinach	3 handfuls mature spinach ( ½ pound)	tastier [2]
parsley	---	large bunch (weighing ½ ounce)	healthier [3]
garlic	2 cloves	6 cloves (weighing ½ ounce)	healthier [3]
Parmesan cheese	1 cup	½ cup	healthier [1]
olive oil	¼ cup	2 Tablespoons	healthier [1]
lemon juice	juice of half a lemon	juice of half a lemon	no change
salt	½ teaspoon	to taste	---
Notes
[1]	Scaling back calorie-dense ingredients.
[2]	I like the stronger taste of mature spinach, but maybe you don't.
[3]	Plus veggies, plus veggies, always plus veggies.

Divide the toasted pine nuts into two piles and put one of the piles by your serving bowl so you don't forget them when it comes time to garnish the dish.

   Put the other pile of pine nuts, the cut asparagus spears, and all the other ingredients in your food processor and whir them into a sauce -- smooth if you like your sauces smooth, chunky if you like them chunky, as I do.

Taste the sauce. Add more lemon juice and salt if you need to till all the flavors in the sauce are bright and distinct.

assembly and garnish

If you want to serve the dish hot, heat a microwave-safe serving bowl full of water in your microwave or oven and then pour out the water and dry the bowl. I like the dish better at room temperature, so I skip this step.

Put half the asparagus sauce in the serving bowl.

Lift the pasta out of the pasta water, put it into the serving bowl, and stir it to coat all the strands with sauce.

Put the other half of the sauce on top of the dressed pasta.

Top the sauce with the asparagus tips, the pile of pine nuts you set aside, and more cheese if you like.

Toss and tangle the pasta, sauce, and garnishes at the table.

This recipe reminds me of one from Faith Willinger's Red, White & Greens: The Italian Way with Vegetables (HarperCollins, 1996, a terrific book). Willinger's recipe is for penne and uses asparagus, lemon zest, olive oil, pepper, and Parmesan cheese for the sauce. I liked it so much I must have made it every two weeks for a full summer -- Margaret probably remembers -- and then I had had enough and hadn't thought of it again till now.

I love Heidi's mixture of white and green fettucine, but the ingredient that definitively sets her version apart from Willinger's is the pine nuts. They gave the sauce an impressive depth of flavor. Eating Heidi's version was like bumping into an old friend you haven't seen for a while who has gotten a good haircut and lost a couple of pounds. How very nice to see/eat you again, and my don't you look/taste special.

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