Thursday, April 17, 2008

Spaghetti con gli Asparagi

It's asparagus season! Woohoo. I adore them, especially the thin and twiggy wild version that I found in the mercato this week. I frequently just parboil them, drizzle on a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with salt...basta. But I also like this go-to dish when I can find the truly thin babies. Too thick and this recipe just doesn't turn out right. (But if you can't find the thin ones, you can slice the thicker asparagus in half.) The best part (aside from the wonderful taste, of course) is that it is done in the time it takes to boil the spaghetti.

You'll Need
garlic
a bouquet of very thin asparagus
2 or 3 tomatoes
salt and pepper
basil
spaghetti

While the water is heating for the pasta, mince up 2 cloves of garlic. Rinse the asparagus in a colander. Chop the tomatoes.

In a large skillet, heat a tablespoon of olive oil and saute the garlic over low heat until fragrant and soft. Up the heat a bit and throw in the asparagus, with the water still clinging to them. Stir, cover and saute 2 to 3 minutes. Toss in the tomatoes, stir well, cover and let cook another 3 minutes. Just before serving, stir in some minced up basil.

Quickly drain the spaghetti to leave some of the water clinging to them, toss them into the skillet, toss, drizzle on a little olive oil, and serve.