No stress at all about cooking this side dish. I decided to turn it into a main dish by adding our household favorite - pasta! I tweaked the recipe further by substituting pancetta (an Italian bacon) for the regular bacon. I refused to boil the asparagus when the microwave will do the job in a few minutes. I cut the asparagus spears into thirds to work along with the pappardelle (Italian wide noodle) noodles. I also zested a lemon to add to the lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil (I couldn't bring myself to use walnut oil for this dish, maybe as the side dish). I added ground fresh black pepper to this lemon/olive oil mix. Putting it together was a cinch in the 12 inch fryer before serving in pasta dishes.
Mangia! Husband declared it excellent with all the foods and flavors he loves. Nephew said it was 'pretty kickin' ass good'. Son said the pancetta was too salty (I think he loves being arbitrary!). Absolutely delicious and I will be making this again soon as our Jersey asparagus will be out soon and will be around for a couple of months to come.
Happy Easter, Happy Passover to All!
What a great idea mixing it with the pasta. I love pasta with veggies,
ReplyDeleteso much lighter than some sauces. Your dish looks great. Tricia and
I both enjoyed this week's recipe too. Happy Easter.
Lovely idea to add it to pasta :-)
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely weekend.
Now I want pasta. Good thing I have all this Easter candy to appease me :) Loved the taste tester reactions in your house - isn't that such a fun part of the process ? My 15 year old who does already like asparagus has declared this his favorite Dorie recipe yet. Nice but no vegetable will trump creme brulee for me .......
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea to turn it into a main dish with pasta! Very creative.
ReplyDeleteNice interpretation with the pasta. Sounds like a very springy meal. I can't wait for local asparagus to be in season in the Northeast. Hope you have a happy holiday weekend.
ReplyDeleteGosh, what an excellent idea!!! Such a yummy pasta dish!
ReplyDeleteKathleen, What a nice dish, followed by some great compliments. I preferred the nephew's, myself! You will enjoy the asparagus - all ways - as it comes into season soon. While we have good asparagus and produce here, I would kill for a few Jersey tomatoes later on in the Summer. I hope your holiday week-end was wonderful. Mary
ReplyDeleteExcellent idea to turn this into a pasta! And the microwave does cook asparagus perfectly . Looking forward to reading about the Sardines!
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