It was my turn to cook tonight. This meant dinner would be on the fly, because you know, work, kid pick-up, walking home with a four year old takes forever, Christmas-is-a-coming etc.
I looked in the fridge and found asparagus. I looked on food52 and found the recipe for Pasta con Asparagi for which I had all of the ingredients except the fresh herbs. This qualifies as a miracle in my book so I got to cooking.
(Don’t shame me about the fresh herbs.)
As I read through the recipe I thought to myself “I’m pretty sure I’ve always wanted to make this dish.” Then, at dinner things started to feel kinda deja-vu-ish.
Fortunately, I’ve got the blog to pick up where my memory leaves off. It turns out, I have made Pasta con Asparagi before. It’s quick, easy and my family has enjoyed it twice. I call that an endorsement.
• Pasta con Asparagi •
from Craig Claiborne via food52
Serves 4-6
1 1/2 pounds fresh asparagus
3 tablespoons butter
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic
2 cups canned Italian plum tomatoes, put through a sieve or grated coarsely
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil
3/4 pound penne, rigatoni, or other tubular pasta
2 eggs, plus one yolk, beaten well with a fork
1/2 cup grated parmesan
Have all the ingredients for this recipe prepared and ready to cook before beginning. Bring about 3 quarts of water to a boil and have it ready for the pasta. Cut the asparagus into lengths about 2 inches long. If the stalks are thick, cut them in half or quarter them. Leave the tips in tact.
Heat the butter in a large, deep skillet and add the asparagus pieces, salt, and pepper to taste. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, or until crisp-tender and lightly browned. Transfer the asparagus to a plate and reserve.
In the same pan, add the oil and garlic. Cook until lightly browned and remove and discard garlic. Add the tomatoes, parsley, basil, salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring, for about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, add the pasta and salt to the water and, when it returns to a boil, cook for about 7 minutes or until tender. Do not overcook.
Just before the pasta is done, turn off the heat under the tomatoes and add the beaten eggs, stirring vigorously so that they blend without curdling. Do not boil the sauce after the eggs are added. (If you are nervous about curdling the eggs, you may temper them in, by stirring a ladleful of the hot tomato sauce into the eggs, then whisking the mixture back into the pan.) Add the asparagus to the tomato sauce and stir to blend.
Drain the pasta immediately. Add the tomato sauce and asparagus, and toss with half the cheese. Serve piping hot with the remaining cheese on the side.
