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Too much asparagus might be the definition of a fancy problem, but there I was, looking down at three hefty bunches I impulse-bought on sale. My usual move when faced with a surfeit of veg is to blitz it into a puréed soup, but then I wondered—could asparagus be transformed into a silky, pastel-green sauce for pasta?
Ingreadients:
- 1½ lb. asparagus (see footnote), bottom inch removed
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish
- 8 oz. mushrooms, such as morels, chanterelles, or shiitakes, cleaned, trimmed, and sliced ¼-in. thick (3 cups)
- 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
- ⅔ cup finely chopped shallots
- 2 cups packed arugula leaves
- 1 cup peas, fresh or frozen
- 1 lb. farfalle (bowtie) pasta
- 1 cup packed finely grated Pecorino Romano, plus more for garnish
- 2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
Direction
- Peel the bottom half of the asparagus stalks down to the white flesh. Remove and reserve the tips, then coarsely chop the stalks.
- To a large pot set over medium-high heat, add the oil. When it’s shimmering and hot, add the mushrooms and asparagus tips and season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and browned, about 7 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter, stir until melted, then scrape into a bowl and set aside.
- To the empty pot, add 2 tablespoons of the butter, the shallots, and asparagus stalks and turn the heat to medium. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the stalks are al dente, about 8 minutes. Add 4½ cups of water and bring to a boil. Add the arugula and peas and boil for 1 minute more. Using an immersion (or regular) blender, process until it’s as smooth as possible. Add salt to taste (it should be assertively seasoned).
- Add the farfalle, turn the heat to medium, and cover. Boil, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot every 2 minutes on the dot to prevent sticking, until the pasta is nearly al dente, about 9 minutes.
- Uncover, turn the heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring every 15 seconds, until the sauce has thickened and the pasta is al dente, 3–5 minutes more. Add the Pecorino, lemon zest and juice, remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, and half of the mushroom- asparagus mixture and cook for 1 minute more. Season with black pepper to taste.
- To serve, divide the pasta among 4–6 bowls. Garnish each with the remaining asparagus-mushroom mixture, then drizzle with oil and sprinkle with Pecorino.