RECIPE PREPARATION
- Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving 1½ cups pasta cooking liquid.
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium-high until shimmering. Add asparagus, season with salt, and cook, stirring often, until just beginning to take on color, about 1 minute. Add garlic, lemon zest, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat and let sit until pasta is done.
- Add pasta and basil to pot with asparagus mixture and return to medium-high heat. Squeeze juice from both lemons into pot and add 2 oz. Parmesan and 1 cup reserved pasta cooking liquid. Cook, tossing vigorously and adding more pasta cooking liquid if needed, until sauce is creamy and emulsified and pasta is coated, about 1 minute. Taste and season with more salt if needed. Remove and discard garlic.
- Divide pasta among bowls, placing a lemon strip in each, and top with more Parmesan.
My notes:
1. I had really thin asparagus (the TJs bag), which made it a pain to thinly slice, but I did the best I could and I'm glad I didn't half ass it. The thinner the slices, the more "noodle-like" it becomes when cooking.
2. I used pecorino intead of parm because that's what I had, seemed fine
3. I measured and used the full amount of oil. Very necessary. Could up the amount of red pepper flakes.
4. I had large lemons, so I used 1.75 lemons for the lemon juice. I also forgot to remove the garlic before serving, but found that it didn't matter because it cooked and was delicious.
5. I used a mix of whole wheat and regular spaghetti, again, because that's what I had.
6. Delicious. I really liked it. It could used more veggies-- maybe cooked on the side, or chopped small and cooked with the asparagus. I envision mushrooms, broccoli, etc.
7. I would make again because it's not like really another pasta I make, and as far as al limone goes, I'm glad it's not a super creamy version.
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