Hi there!
It’s been a beautiful day here in San Diego – 85 and the sun shining bright! The beach was a great people watching scene today. I was bikini clad for the first time in quite awhile, soaking up the sun, relaxing, and reading for a couple of hours this afternoon. No complaints here!
Today’s recipe centers around one of the few veggies I never ate until recently – asparagus. My hubby is a fan of it, so I started giving it more of a try lately, and have found that as long as it’s dressed up with a sauce or pasta, I don’t mind it at all. Enter this dish:
This dish is a simple meal that can be thrown together with ease in 20 minutes flat. I paired the asparagus and pasta with a lighter version of a heavy white cream sauce to keep it more waistline friendly.
Random asparagus tip: To trim it properly, simply hold an asparagus stalk with both hands and snap the end side off. This will break the inedible (or at least not tasty) portion off in its natural spot.
The few times I’ve previously made asparagus, I never quite knew what parts to cook and what parts to toss. Adam informed me of this tidbit and when I said that it sounded like a great idea, his response was, ”Did I just teach you something about food that you didn’t already know [insert my hubby’s smarty pants expression]?”
Why, yes he did. You learn something new every day!
Spaghetti with Asparagus in a {Lightened Up} Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 lb whole grain spaghetti, or other long shaped pasta
- 12 oz asparagus trimmed and cut into bite sized pieces
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese plus extra for sprinkling on top of dish
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 TBSP chopped fresh basil
- 1/4 TSP salt
- 3/4 cup water
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to directions.
- Meanwhile, place asparagus in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the water to the pot, put the lid on top, and cook for about 10 minutes, or until asparagus begins to feel tender.
- Mix in the grated parm, basil, and cream, stirring well to combine. Cook for another 2 minutes.
- Once the pasta is finished cooking, drain and return back to the pot.
- Pour the asparagus and sauce on top of the pasta. Season with salt.
- Evenly distribute into 5 pasta bowls, then sprinkle additional grated parm over top each portion. Serve immediately.
I love asparagus. It’s one of my favorite vegetables!
Well then you’d like this recipe!
I also love asparagus but the hubs is not a fan of green veggies so I don’t have it often. If I can figure out how to make this dairy free, I bet he’d like it.
To make it dairy free, here’s what I think I’d do: use almond milk and vegan butter instead of cream, and use vegan parmesan instead of regular. I’ve heard of vegan parm being made with cashews and nutritional yeast but have never tried it myself. If you try it that way, let me know how it turns out!