Beet Pasta with Sauteed Asparagus

Oh Pinterest, thanks for making our meals a little bit yummier here lately. First it was inspiration for sweet potato burgers. And now it's Absurdly Addictive Asparagus from the Food52.com blog. I saw this, pinned it on my "Savory Recipes to Try" board, and knew I would be trying it in my near future but I wasn't sure how it would happen. I assumed it would just be a side to a meat dish. But then it became better than what I originally envisioned. I was meal-planning and going through the pantry to try and utilize items we had. And that's when I saw them...


Beet pasta! It's like a light bulb went off and I thought this asparagus saute would be wonderful served on top of this beet pasta. It did not disappoint! Special thanks to Mom and Jimmy for gifting us the beet pasta that made this dish possible. I made a few additions to the recipe and I will note that below.

Absurdly Addictive Asparagus from food52.com 
Serves 4
4 ounces pancetta, cut into 3/8 inch to 1/4 inch dice (I purchased the pancetta diced)
1 tablespoon butter
1 pound asparagus, woody ends trimmed and sliced into 2 inch pieces on the bias
1 1/4 cup leek, thinly sliced crosswise (white and pale green parts only)
2 cloves garlic, minced
Zest of one lemon
1 teaspoon orange zest
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts (I substituted almonds because I always have them on hand)
1-2 tablespoon Italian parsley, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
**I added some chopped red onion and peppers left over from the tuna salad 

In a large non-stick pan, sauté pancetta, stirring frequently, over medium heat, until crisp and lightly golden. Add 1 tablespoon of butter to pan. Add asparagus pieces and leek (and any other veggies you want to add such as red onions and peppers) and sauté until asparagus is tender crisp, about 3-4 minutes.


Add garlic, lemon and orange zest, toasted pine nuts and parsley and sauté for about 1 minute, until fragrant. Season to taste with freshly ground pepper and salt and serve immediately.
If you're choosing to serve this with a pasta toss everything together in the large pasta pot after you've drained the water. I also added a little parmesan cheese.

The citrus zest certainly makes everything pop in your mouth!

1 comment:

  1. Glad we could make a contribution! Sounds delicious - also looks delicious.

    ReplyDelete