Spring pasta

Hello, Spring. I'm so very, very glad you're here. Great sigh of relief. Let's celebrate with a feast!

 

As soon as I see these gorgeous, tender shoots in the grocery store, I'm ready to create my Spring pasta. It's become a seasonal culinary tradition. (I honestly prefer to go pick my own, but haven't had the time just yet to make it to a farm. Soon, I hope.) I discovered a recipe for pasta with vegetables years ago that was inspiring in the way it used the boiling pasta water to quickly cook the veggies. I played with this idea over time and found, one beautiful evening, that asparagus cooks perfectly in the last few moments with the pasta. It's an incredibly simple, flavorful recipe to create and the results are fresh, delicious, and just say Spring to me.

Meg's Spring Pasta

1 bunch fresh, tender asparagus
1 box angel hair pasta (I use Barilla Plus for added protein)
3/4 C feta cheese
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1 Tbsp. organic oregano

Fill your pasta pot with water and set to boil. While waiting, wash the asparagus, trim off the end of the stems, and chop into 2 inch pieces. Get the feta, lemon juice, and oregano ready, too, because this dish comes together quickly. Once the water is boiling, pop in the angel hair and set the timer. My pasta only takes 6 minutes to cook. With just a minute to go, toss the chopped asparagus into the boiling water and cook with the pasta. When the timer rings, the pasta should be al dente and the asparagus bright green and tender.

*Now, here's a tricky part. Pay attention here.*

Drain the pasta and asparagus and reserve about 1 cup of hot pasta water. I made a great big mess the first time I tried this, so here's some simple advice: just place a cereal bowl under your colander in the sink. This will collect a generous amount of hot pasta water and then you can then dip your measuring cup into the bowl to get out what you need.

Quickly pour the feta and lemon juice into the warm pot and stir in just enough hot pasta water to make a light sauce. Pour in the pasta and asparagus and toss gently to coat. Sprinkle the oregano on top and serve!

 

This turned out so beautifully that I made it two nights in a row. The second night, I added petite frozen peas (tossed in for the last 2 minutes of cooking) as well as the asparagus for extra greenery. My veggie girl was quite pleased!