Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Spaghetti with Shaved Asparagus, Brown Butter and Toasted Walnuts



From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Within the confines of my home this is still called ABC pasta. The first time I made the dish, I used asparagus, brown butter and capellini, and, while the ingredients have changed a bit, the name stuck. This is a fast and easy dish to execute. It has a spare elegance and makes a lovely, light meal that is worthy of family and friends. It's also a great way to use some of the asparagus that floods markets at this time of year. While you'll want to use thick spears to make this, it will be necessary to sacrifice the first strip you shave from the top and each side of the asparagus spears. The asparagus is "cooked" only by the heat of the pasta, so you want to make sure it is crisp tender, not tough, when it is tossed with the macaroni. The brown butter sauce is simple to put together and once the asparagus has been shaved you are ten minutes away from dinner. There is a nutty richness to the butter sauce that I think you will enjoy. The recipe appears below.

Now, I have a special request to make of you. I'm looking for a food joke. The kind that will make folks groan when they hear it. It's time for retaliation. I have for most of my adult life been surrounded by pragmatic people who love the order of numbers and the power of logic. They are wonderful folks, one and all. Let's just say that their humor is sometimes beyond the pale. I was working in the kitchen when the Silver Fox, normally quite circumspect, let loose a belly laugh. He was paging through a book on relativity. "You have to hear this, Mary." Are your ready? Here's the gist of his metaphysical gut buster. A battered turtle crawled in a police station to report he had been mugged by three snails. When ask to be more specific, the turtle said, "It happened so fast, I can't remember." Help! Poor Albert Einstein is rolling in his grave. It may be time for separate vacations.

Spaghetti with Shaved Asparagus, Brown Butter and Toasted Walnuts...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
Brown Butter Sauce
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage
2 tablespoons heavy cream
Spaghetti
12 ounces spaghetti
1 bunch (1 pound) asparagus, tough ends removed, shaved with a vegetable peeler
1/2 cup coarsely chopped toasted walnuts
1/2 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

Directions:
1) To make brown butter sauce: Melt butter and salt in a small saucepan set over medium-low heat. Add chopped fresh sage and cook, stirring often, until butter begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons heavy cream and remove from the heat.
2) To make pasta: Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, until al dente. Drain pasta and return to pot. Gently fold in shaved asparagus.
3) To serve: Add brown butter to pasta and asparagus and toss to coat. Fold in cheese and walnuts. Adjust salt if necessary. Serve immediately. Yield: 4 servings.






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You might also enjoy these recipes:
Classic Spaghetti Carbonara - Dinner du Jour
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Baked Lemon Spaghetti - The Recipe Girl
Spaghetti with Fresh Tomato Sauce - The Constant Hunger
Capellini with Cheese and Black Pepper - The Red Spoon
Lemon Spaghetti - Sunshine and Smile
Spaghetti with Bacon - In Flora's Kitchen
Shrimp and Mushroom Spaghetti - What's Cookin' Chicago?
Spaghetti with Fresh Herbs and Roasted Tomatoes - A Toast to Taste

74 comments :

jennifer said...

Looks yum! Not too filling either.

muppy said...

this looks so delicious, perfectly simple. i don't know any food jokes sorry!

Little Inbox said...

I'm impressed how tasty and healthy the spaghetti is.

Diane said...

This sounds just my sort of recipe. Bookmarked to make in the next few days with asparagus from my garden :-) Diane

Ginny Hartzler said...

A friend got some vinegar in his ear. Now he suffers from pickled hearing.

Jeannie said...

That sounds like something really delicious, though I'll have a probably make a mess while shaving asparagus!

The Harried Cook said...

I love brown butter! This sounds like such a tasty recipe... Thanks, Mary!

Katarina said...

Sounds really good!

Coleens Recipes said...

I love the simplicity and what a nice treat for ME on those carniverous steak nights that hubby thrives. Thanks for sharing.

Nami | Just One Cookbook said...

Simple but looks so delicious. Pasta actually tastes best when it involves simple ingredients and I bet yours is not exception!

Ana Powell said...

Your dishes always look so delicious and welcoming ♥

Ana Rita Marreiros said...

It looks very tasty and delicious Mary!!1A really good combination.

Kisses,
Rita

Su m said...

I just fell in love with this recipe... it just looks amazing :D
Thank you.

Terry C said...

Jill: Would you like some Egyptian pie?
Jack: What's Egyptian pie?
Jill: You know, the kind mummy used to make.

Pity said...

a wonderful plate of pasta, well done! cheers from london

The Blonde Duck said...

That's my kind of pasta!

Chiara said...

I love this kind of pasta, have a good day mary....

Carla Oliveira said...

Lovely pasta, i´ve just tasted aspargus a few weeks ago and became a fan, so this would be a perfect recipe for me.
Kisses

Anonymous said...

This looks so good! I recently got on board with the browned butter and nuts in pasta, but I've never thought to add asparagus. Great idea!

Anonymous said...

these spaghetti simply look yum!

Sutapa said...

Simple delicious and I love the way you use shaved asparagus... it gives a gorgeous look to the dish!

Lenia said...

Sorry,I can't think of any food joke,but I must confess that your spaghetti is absolutely perfect!A light but tasty dish!I love all the ingredients!Regards from Greece,dear!

Faith said...

What a beautiful dish with so many tasty components! I love teh nutty flavor from the brown butter and the walnuts!

Angie's Recipes said...

A light and tasty pasta meal!

Unknown said...

Oh, Mary, that pasta looks incredible! Definitely something that will end up on our table!

Ok.. this is really lame, but here goes:
Why did the student eat his homework?

The teacher told him it was a piece of cake.

I told you it was lame!!

VegeCooking Club said...

Hello and thanks so much for stopping by my site! This has me drooling over the browned butter and toasted walnuts. Mmmm....

Anonymous said...

What a lovely pasta dish, the flavors sound delicious, I would not have thought of walnuts, but I bet they are delicious with the butter - wow, thanks for sharing this.
Mary

Gloria Baker said...

Absolutely nice dish Mary, have a nice and wonderful day! gloria

Biren @ Roti n Rice said...

I love asparagus and would like to try that brown butter sauce. Sounds like a great combination.

Kalyn Denny said...

Oh my, this sounds fantastic!

Nicole@HeatOvenTo350 said...

Okay, here's a joke that I think is pretty funny:

A duck walks into a bar and asks, "do you have any quackers?" bartender looks at him and says "no". Duck walks out. The next day, Duck walks into the same bar and asks the same bartender, "do you have any quackers?" bartender looks at him and says, "NO" next day, Duck walks in again and asks the bartender "do you have any quackers?" bartender throws his bar rag down in disgust and says, "NO! if you come in here one more time and ask if we have quackers, im going to nail your feet to the floor!! now get the hell out of here!" next day, duck walks in and the bartender sees him and says "what did I tell you!!". Duck looks at him and asks "do you have any nails?" bartender looks puzzled and says "no!?" duck then asks " do you have any quackers?"

daphne said...

I don't have a food joke- yet.. but I love the sound of this ABC pasta! How light and easy it is.. Fresh as well. Perfect.

From the Kitchen said...

I'm sorry but I have no food jokes at the moment. I have found that, at times, separate vacations are in order!!

I have everything to do this recipe (which sounds delicious) but the asparagus. Still waiting. = (

Oh wait! Would you believe that Ginny stole my joke?

Best,
Bonnie

Inspired by eRecipeCards said...

I just love the idea of shaved asparagus... Going to make use of that soon...

And here you go, I am in diet mode right now, so this came to mind...

I told my doctor I get very tired when I go on a diet, so he gave me pep pills. Know what happened? I ate faster.

David said...

Mary, This dish looks and sounds terrific. Light but satisfying! I love asparagus and the combination of simple ingredients should be perfect. Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for recommending my Spaghetti Bolognese recipe :) Glad I found your site, plan on making your Orange Glazed Fiesta Chicken!

Kelly said...

Ahhhh so much shaved asparagus in the blogosphere lately. It's gorgeous and CLEARLY something I should get on.

That Girl said...

Browned butter might be my favorite of pasta sauce.

Food Glorious Food! said...

I aways like speedy great dinner and yours is ideal! Another great recipe!

PeggyR said...

This sounds heavenly!

Cooking Creation said...

Mmm! Shaved asparagus sounds wonderful with pasta! Wish I had a good food joke for you. Thanks for sharing!

Tanvi@Sinfully Spicy said...

Brown Butter in a pasta sound so good.I love the light summer flavors in your dish.Gorgeous looking.

Maria said...

I love this! Perfect flavours, this sounds so delicious Mary!

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

So nice for Spring, really colorful.

Anonymous said...

I think it's Mark Bittman who points out from time to time that the veggie peeler should be used more to shave things like asparagus and broccoli than to actually remove skins and peels, where lots of nutrients hang out. Great one!

Anonymous said...

What a simple yet tasty recipe! Asparagus is exploding in the supermarkets right now & I usually don't know how to change things up with it, this is one way I'm going to try! Also, I'm 30 and I still laughed at the joke! It could also be because I'm known to laugh at any and every thing :P

Ju said...

Wow this looks so yummy. I am always looking for new food blogs with great recipes. Thanks for leaving a comment so I could find this wonderful site!!! I'll be back :o)

Katerina said...

Simple and delicious! I am sorry Mary but my jokes will sound all Greek to you!

sweetlife said...

pickled hearing, love it!! a perfect lunch idea, thanks for sharing

sweetlife

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

What a refined tasting spaghetti dish! That combination is so appetizing and wonderful.

Cheers,

Rosa

Gourmantine said...

Lovely combination of flavors, perfect for spring! Thanks so much for sharing :)

Carol @ There's Always Thyme to Cook said...

Looks fantastic! Simple but fantastic!

Here's some groaner's for you...
A friend got some vinegar in his ear, now he suffers from pickled hearing.


Overweight is something that just sort of snacks up on you.

penny aka jeroxie said...

ABC pasta... what a cool name and very fitting

~~louise~~ said...

How drastic of a joke do you want Mary? I have a few insect recipes which you might be able to pass off as gourmet.

Your dish sounds as easy as ABC and I love it!!!

Thanks for sharing...

Pam said...

Great dish and thanks for sharing it Mary! It has to be great combining asparagus with toasted walnuts.

Lucy@The Sweet Touch said...

Ha love the joke;)

This pasta looks delish! I just tried shaved asparagus for the first time the other day - I'll be posting a recipe for shaved asparagus and proscuitto pizza soon!

Maris (In Good taste) said...

Looks incredibly good!Like something one would find in the finest restaurant.

Kim said...

These pastas are just perfect. really, I will absolutly prepare these once the aspargus will be on market. I love brown butter, pastas, nuts and aspargus. Thank you for sharing this recipe!

Ilke said...

Ha! You need to find a good food joke definitely! :)
I have been seeing shaved asparagus a lot lately, and each picture looks very delicious. I like that only the heat of pasta cooked it.

Julia @ DimpleArts said...

This dish looks amazing! I think I am gonna incorporate this into my dinner rotation.

Joanne said...

Your husband's joke reminds me of my college days at MIT...where every joke was like that. Sigh.

Love this pasta! So fresh-flavored and with my favorite spring veggie!

lena said...

another great idea with shaved asparagus and that brown butter must be delicious too.
Here's one that maybe you might have heard of..
chilli and tomato were in a race and tomato was falling far behind. what did chilli say to tomato?
"hey, tomato..Ketch-up!Ketch-up!"

Unknown said...

That joke is a rough one. I'm sure there are some bad ones out there, just have to remember them. Love the idea of using shaved asparagus. What do you use to shave it with?

Julie said...

Oh this looks so amazing!! I love asparagus and add brown butter, even better!!!

Jocie's Mom said...

HA! I had to laugh when I read the turtle joke. Its like you live on the set of The Big Bang Theory :) I'm afraid I don't have any food jokes of my own but the pickled hearing one certainly made me giggle. Not as much as the turtle one tho :)

Awesome recipes, well done!

Unknown said...

Another wonderful dish Mary! You never dissappoint. I always look forward to seeing what delicious recipe you've posted : )

Rambling Tart said...

This is the sort of dish that makes me happy, Mary. The sort that I want to eat whilst sitting in a puddle of sunshine and looking out at something beautiful. :-)

Elaine said...

Too funny! This looks like a perfect work night dinner.

Tasty Trix said...

I actually snorted at that turtle joke ... help, I think I am a dork!! I wish I had a good food joke for you, but I really enjoyed reading the groaners in the comments. lol! Ah .. but I don't want to forget your lovely pasta - beautiful and simple. And well: Brown. Butter.

megi said...

This dish looks amazing, I love the simplicity of the ingredients!

Tasha said...

This pasta sounds lovely with its simple ingredients but promise of flavor. Once I can come across the thicker stems of asparagus, I will have to give it a try.

Sue said...

This dish sounds incredibly delicious! Such a great combo of flavors.

Adam said...

I love asparagus, I love pasta, and butter? Yes please :).
And Hilary Price is one of my favourite cartoonists who does a lot of word play humour in her comic strip. There are usually a few food related gems :). If you're still looking for a joke (although not a written or oral one) this is a more recent example of one of my food related favourites :)
http://www.rhymeswithorange.com/wordpress/strips/Rhymes_with_Orange.20110110_large.gif

Melanie said...

I've been trying to reset my body after vacation by cutting back on sugar and carbs and this meal really hit the spot. Thank you for posting it!

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