According to the website “The Kitchen Project,” asparagus is a very old vegetable.
Historical records show it was grown in ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt.
It takes a few years to get a plant going, but once you have an asparagus plant established, the growing season will last about three months, and a healthy plant can grow six inches every day.
With my gardening skills, I don’t think I could get a plant to live long enough to get to that point, but I’m always willing to enjoy the fruits of others’ labor when it comes to fresh vegetables.
With asparagus harvesting season just around the corner, I wanted to share a unique way to use the veggie for those who start getting tired of just roasting stalks.
This comes from “Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street.” You can find the original recipe on their YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/pLjflANPvNk?si=tSQSwkFV5PW35UTV. I replaced the shallots with onions, increased the garlic and figured out the amounts for several of the ingredients in my version below.
Asparagus Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fresh asparagus
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 small onion diced
- 1/4 teaspoon salt plus more, to taste
- 6 to 8 cloves garlic minced
- pepper to taste
- 16 ounces fettuccine pasta
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese freshly grated
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Trim ends off asparagus and then cut the stalks into one-inch pieces.
- Put the pieces into a food processor, and process until it is finely chopped.
- Save out about one cup of the asparagus mixture and set it aside.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and melt the butter in it.
- When the butter is melted, add the onion and 1/4 teaspoon salt, and saute until the onion is soft.
- Add in the garlic and saute for about one minute. Add in the remaining asparagus from the food processor and stir to combine the ingredients. Let it saute for four to five minutes, stirring regularly.
- While the asparagus sautes, begin cooking your pasta, according to the package instructions. When it’s done, be sure to reserve at least one cup of the pasta water when you drain it.
- Once the asparagus is just starting to brown a bit, add in the heavy cream. Once it comes to a low simmer, add in the reserved asparagus, and stir.
- Continue stirring regularly, letting the cream reduce a bit until dragging a spatula across the bottom of the pan leaves an empty trail for a few seconds before the sauce runs back into it.
- Turn the heat to low and stir in the parmesan.
- Add your drained pasta to the skillet. Add a touch of the pasta water, and toss the pasta with the sauce. If you want the sauce a little looser, add more pasta water until it’s at a consistency you like. Stir in the lemon juice and more salt and pepper, to taste. Serve with a little more fresh parmesan on top.
We ate our pasta with some meatballs, but it would also pair really well with chicken.
It was fresh and pretty, and it tasted like, well, asparagus, but with the addition of the parmesan, it had almost Alfredo qualities, and it was just a really nice sauce for dinner.
I’m looking forward to some locally grown asparagus popping up around the area so that I can make this again, and now that I know the ancient Italians were also eating asparagus, I guess the pasta combination just makes sense. Buon appetito!
This piece first appeared in print May 1, 2025.
Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.
