A few weeks ago one of my best girlfriends flew in from California to pay us a visit during her spring break. We cooked together often when we lived together our senior year of college. Since she didn’t eat beef or gluten and I didn’t eat seafood we subsisted on a lot of chicken and pork.. Both of our tastes have changed since then, but we still have fun cooking and eating together. While she was here, I showed her my stack of clipped recipes, which has grown exponentially since college. We weeded through it and picked a pasta dish that incorporated some veggies I knew I’d get in my CSA box that week. I had a blast cooking with her and she got a kick out of seeing what goes on behind the scenes for the blog.
This recipe turned out to be a sleeper hit. At first glance it seemed similar to spring pastas I’d made before. But the vegetables and sauce had so much flavor and the lettuce, strange as it sounds, really worked. In fact, I made another pasta with asparagus the following week and it paled in comparison to this one.
P.S. My friend becomes Dr. Robin this month! So proud of you, roomie!
Printable version of Pasta with Peas, Asparagus, Butter Lettuce, and Prosciutto
Pasta with Peas, Asparagus, Butter Lettuce, and Prosciutto
Serves 6-8
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
½ lb. spring onions or green onions; white parts cut into ¼ inch thick slices, pale green parts cut into ½ inch thick slices, dark green parts discarded
2 tbsp. minced shallot
½ cup dry white wine
½ cup chicken broth
1 ½ lbs. asparagus, cut crosswise into ¾ inch pieces
2 cups shelled fresh peas (from about 2 lbs. peas in pods) or 2 cups frozen petite peas, thawed
1 lb. campanelle (trumpet-shaped pasta) or medium shell-shaped pasta
1 head of butter lettuce or Boston lettuce (about 6 oz.), cored, leaves cut into ¾ inch wide slices
1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
4 oz. thinly sliced prosciutto, cut crosswise into ½ inch wide strips
Melt butter with 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and shallot. Sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper. Sauté until tender (do not brown), about 8 minutes. Add wine; increase heat to medium-high and simmer until liquid is reduced to glaze, about 3 minutes. Add broth and bring to simmer; set aside.
Cook asparagus in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, 2 to 4 minutes, depending on thickness of asparagus. Using skimmer or slotted spoon, transfer to large bowl of ice water. Return water to boil. Add peas and cook until just tender, about 2 minutes. Using skimmer, transfer to bowl with asparagus. Drain vegetables.
Return water in pot to boil. Cook pasta until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking liquid. Meanwhile, reheat onion mixture. Add lettuce and stir just until wilted, about 1 minute. Add drained asparagus and peas; stir until heated through. Add pasta, 1 cup Parmesan cheese, and parsley to skillet with vegetables; toss, adding reserved pasta cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls if dry. Season with salt and pepper.
Transfer pasta to large shallow bowl. Sprinkle prosciutto over; drizzle with olive oil. Serve, passing more cheese alongside.
From Bon Appétit
0 Responses to “Pasta with Peas, Asparagus, Butter Lettuce, and Prosciutto”