Fresh asparagus season should be fully utilised! This recipe for a quick and easy pasta dish is just one of many opportunities to enjoy some of ‘nature's candy’.
Sinking your teeth into fresh green asparagus that is not overcooked is simply a delight!
Pasta with green asparagus and mushrooms
Green asparagus is pure candy in my opinion. At the same time, they are one of the things that announce spring and early summer. The season is a little longer today than it used to be, as you can also buy imported asparagus. But if you can get them freshly harvested from local farms, it's preferable.They're easy to prepare - no peeling, just rinse and cook for a short time in a pan or on the grill.I used beef stock - if you want to make it vegetarian, just leave it out.And if you want it to be vegan, just use a vegan alternative to cream. There are also vegan alternatives to parmesan
Ingredients
- 500 g fresh green asparagus
- 3 dl stock/broth/water
- 250 g mushrooms I used oyster mushrooms, use whatever mushrooms you can find
- 1 medium-sized onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1-2 tbsp oil Preferably olive oil
- ½ dl white wine or 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 dl cream whipping cream or cooking cream
- 200-250 g pasta I used linguine. I would also recommend a broader pasta, such as tagliatelle
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- Plenty of freshly grated parmesan cheese
Method
- Rinse the asparagus and break off the bottom part where it will naturally break without using much force
- Cut the parts that break off lengthways and cut them into smaller pieces. Put them in a small saucepan with 3 dl of water or broth, which should not be too salty or "chemical" in flavour. I used some unsalted beef stock I had just made anyway.
- Cook the "asparagus waste" at a relatively low heat for an hour under a lid. This creates an asparagus stock that adds depth and flavour to the dish.After an hour or so, scoop up the "asparagus waste" with a slotted spoon and discard. Use the liquid to cook your asparagus pieces.
- Cut your asparagus into bite-sized pieces
- Clean the mushrooms (with as little water as possible) and chop them roughly
- Peel and chop the onion very finely
- Peel the garlic and chop it very finely. In this recipe: avoid the garlic press as it will squeeze the juice out of the garlic, which will become too dominant and at worst a bit bitter.
- Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. You can use your good olive oil here, the flavours in the dish are relatively subtle and won't overpower a quality oil.
- Add the mushrooms to the pan and let them sweat. They will release a lot of liquid. When the liquid has evaporated and you can hear "simmering" sounds from the pan, add the onion and garlic.Continue to sauté for a few minutes until the onions are translucent.
- Pour ½ dl of white wine into the pan and let it boil down until you can no longer see the liquid.If you don't have an open bottle of white wine on hand, you can add acidity by using around 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar instead.But you can also open a good bottle of white wine and serve it with the dish. It's best that way 🙂Turn down the heat.
- Cook the pasta in plenty of water with salt. You should cook it 2 minutes less than you think it needs to be al dente. Once it's cooked, pour it into a sieve.
- While you cook pasta:In the cooking water from the "asparagus waste": let the asparagus pieces cook for 2 minutes - they should not be tender (yet). Pour the contents of the pot into the pan with the cream, bring to the boil (just slightly) and season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Pour the pasta into the sauce and heat through for 2 minutes before serving.This allows the flavour of the good sauce to penetrate the pasta, enhancing any pasta dish.At the same time, it gives your asparagus the final cooking so that it's tender but still has some crispness.
- Serve with freshly grated parmesan and 6½ dl. white wine to share 🙂
English (UK) 
Dansk
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