The Dinner Plan by Kathy Brennan

Author:Kathy Brennan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Abrams
Published: 2017-04-10T04:00:00+00:00

FARFALLE WITH ASPARAGUS AND CREAM

EXTRA-FAST

Serves 4 to 6

This quick but decadent pasta never fails to satisfy. Adding the nuts to the pan with the shallots and garlic bypasses having to toast them separately, and cooking the asparagus with the pasta streamlines the process even more. The nuts lend earthiness and crunch to the dish, but it’s delicious without them, too.

Salt

1 pound (455 g) farfalle, fusilli, or penne

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 shallots, very thinly sliced

1 garlic clove, smashed

Handful of walnuts, roughly chopped or broken up in your hand, or whole sunflower seeds or pine nuts (optional)

1½ cups (360 ml) heavy cream

½ cup (50 g) freshly grated Pecorino or Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving

Grated zest from 1 lemon

Pepper

1 pound (455 g) asparagus, cut into 1-inch (2.5-cm) pieces on the bias

Coarsely ground black pepper

—Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat and season it generously with salt; it should taste like seawater. When it returns to a boil, add the pasta, quickly stir to separate the noodles, then cover the pot. When the water returns to a boil again, uncover and boil the pasta until al dente, stirring occasionally.

—Meanwhile, in a large high-sided sauté pan, heat the butter over medium heat. Add the shallots, garlic, and nuts (if using) and cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallots are softened, about 3 minutes. Add the cream and ½ cup (120 ml) water from the pasta pot and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the cheese and zest, season generously with salt and pepper, and set aside.

—When the pasta is 2 to 3 minutes away from being ready (it should be pretty al dente), add the asparagus to the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is ready (the asparagus will be fine even if it cooks a little less or more). Drain the pasta and asparagus, reserving about 1 cup (240 ml) of the cooking water, then pour the pasta and asparagus on top of the reserved cream mixture. Toss to combine over medium heat. If the pasta looks dry, add more of the cooking water. Check the seasonings and serve topped with coarsely cracked black pepper and more cheese.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.