This rich delight has become a quarantine favorite in our household!
My husband doesn't love asparagus as much as I do, but we buy it fairly regularly. Finding we often have a few extra sheaves lying around, I whipped together this dish one night and we've just continued to make it over and over. It's also really great on orzo!
Ingredients:
1 lb tagliatelle pasta
8-10 sheaves asparagus, ends cut off and cut into 1/4" slices
1 shallot, diced
2 cloves of garlic, grated; alternatively 2-3 cloves garlic confit
1/2 bag of frozen peas, rinsed and thawed
1 lemon, zested then juiced
1 tbsp. basil or flat-leaf parsley
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
10 cranks of freshly ground black pepper
1 cup chicken stock, plus 1/4 cup for mixing with cornstarch
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 cup heavy cream
FIRST: First things first, make sure you've prepared your garlic, lemon, asparagus, etc. as instructed in the ingredients. Then, heat a large saucepan over medium heat and add butter or olive oil, just enough to coat the pan. Then add garlic and shallot. Cook until garlic is fragrant and shallot is translucent. Add the lemon juice, and prepare for the pan to get a little loud. Let the lemon juice cook off, stirring frequently, and add chicken broth, just enough to cover the cooked shallots in the pan. Turn the heat up a bit, to medium-high heat. The liquid should just begin to bubble before you complete the next step.
MEANWHILE: In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and 1/4 cup of chicken broth, mixing vigorously. When fully combined, pour into the saucepan. NOTE: The sauce in the pan MUST be fairly hot, so make sure the chicken broth is just about bubbling before adding the mixture.
THEN: Mix the added mixture to the original broth and shallots, and add more chicken broth as desired to achieve a thinned out roux. Keep in mind that it will thin as you go; it's fine if it's a little thinner than you want it (at the end) now.
THEN: Lower the heat slightly and let everything cook low and slow. Add the peas and asparagus, and cook for about 20 minutes. Check that the peas and asparagus look more vibrant in color, and then add the basil or parsley.
MEANWHILE: Cook your pasta, saving one spoonful of pasta water at the end. Once the veggies appear cooked, turn the heat back up a touch and achieve the desired thickness, adding any remaining chicken broth -- at this point, you should finish off the broth you have set aside. When the pasta is finished cooking, add the spoonful of pasta water to the saucepan.
FINALLY: Once the desired thickness is achieved, lower heat to low and add the heavy cream gradually. You may not use all the heavy cream if you don't want a thinner sauce, so keep in mind your preference as you go. Make sure the cream never boils! Keeping that low temperature, continue folding the cream into the sauce until the two become fully combined. Allow desired thinness to cook off, and then pour over cooked pasta, and serve with shredded parmesan cheese.
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