Pasta with Fresh Asparagus

Pasta With Fresh Asparagus

Ingredients
1 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp salt
8 oz (225 g) spaghetti or fettucini

1 lb (450 g) asparagus
1 c (250 mL) sour cream
1 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1–1½ Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 small clove garlic, crushed
1/4 c coarsely chopped pimento


Method
Cook the pasta, adding the oil and salt to the water.
Meanwhile, cook the asparagus in a wide frying pan with at least 1 inch water, covered, 5–8 minutes until the asparagus is tender. Drain, cut into bite-sized pieces.
When the pasta is finished cooking and has been drained, put sour cream, cheese, mustard and garlic in the pot. Stir until well mixed. Add pasta, asparagus and pimento, and toss to mix well until most of the cream is absorbed, about 3 minutes.
Makes 2–3 servings.

Comments
Or you can steam the asparagus standing it upright in a tall covered pot. The recipe doesn’t mention first breaking off the woody ends of the asparagus stems, but it’s a good idea to do so before cooking.
It’s unclear whether to heat the dish for the last 3 or so minutes; I’d guess that it should be done over a low flame, stirring constantly.

Source
Unknown. I had copied this recipe from some newspaper, book or magazine probably in the early 1980s.

Mararoni with Arugula and Fresh Tomatoes, Andrian Style

Ingredients

1/4 c virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, well crushed
2 lb tomatoes, cored, peeled, crushed
1 bunch (ca. 2 c) arugula, washed, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 lb short pasta such as penne, small rigatoni, fusili, etc.
1 1/3 c grated pecorino cheese

Method

Heat the olive oil, cook the onion until transparent, add garlic, fry until golden and fragrant. Add tomatoes, stir well. Cook about 30 minutes.
Cook pasta, add arugula after 2 minutes. Drain when pasta is al dente. Arange on plates, top with tomato sauce and sprinkle cheese over top. Makes 6 servings.

Source

Adapted from a recipe card promoting The Food of Southern Italy by Carlo Middione.

Comments

Another cookbook highly praised by people who own it for containing a collection of recipes that are both excellent and authentic. This recipe is simple to prepare, but looks very good. I might make it if I had arugula. Some suggested substitutes are Belgian endive, escarole, spinach (maybe combined with watercress), chard. The pecorino cheese is similar to Parmesan.
It would have been good if the recipe had indicated about how long the arugula should be cooked, for if the pasta takes longer to cook, it should be added later.