Emma Alter
READ MORE ABOUT:
I'm really enjoying the feeling of freedom that I get heading to my farmers' market with no plans for dinner. I just see what is on offer, and the choice is getting better each week. This week I picked up more of the wonderful garlic that looks like green onions, radishes, celeriac, Jerusalem artichokes, salad greens, chives, salsify (more on that next week), an enormous head of organic basil, and to my intense joy, organic Ontario asparagus.
There was no question that asparagus was going to be the main feature of dinner, but I had to make a decision about how to serve it. This asparagus was so young and tender that I really didn't want to make some elaborate dish that would hide the delicate flavour. In the end, I just sautéed it in olive oil with some of the garlic and put it on pasta, but you could have it as a side dish cooked this way as well. Sometimes the simplest dinners are the best.
Asparagus and Garlic Pasta
Extra virgin olive oil for sautéing
2 bulbs of garlic, sliced or 2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
12 spears of asparagus, broken into 2-inch pieces
Parmesan cheese
Chives for garnish
Salt and pepper to taste
Cooked pasta for 2
1. Heat oil in small saucepan and add garlic. Cook for a few minutes until it begins to soften. Add asparagus and stir to coat with olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook until asparagus is tender, about 5 minutes.
2. Spoon over pasta. Add Parmesan cheese and chives for garnish.
Difficulty level: Easy
-
- {}
