Pasta dishes don’t have to always be smothered in tomato sauce and loaded with meat to be satisfying. In fact, some of the best Italian pasta dishes are those made with a vegetable sauce, like this recipe for tagliatelle with asparagus and peas.
Ingredients
For the sauce:
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 shallot, thinly sliced
10 asparagus spears, hard ends snapped off & discarded, then chopped
1 cup (145g) freshly shelled peas
1 organic vegetable bouillon cube
White wine, enough to cover the vegetables
4 datterini or grape tomatoes, skin removed (I freeze the tomatoes then the skins just pop off under water)
½ cup (38g) parmigiano reggiano
For the pasta:
200g tagliatelle pasta (or any kind of pasta)
½ tablespoon coarse salt
Instructions
For the sauce:
In a medium-sized saucepan, cook the shallot in the extra virgin olive oil over low heat. When the shallot begins to become golden brown, discard.
Add the asparagus, peas, tomatoes, vegetable bouillon cube and white wine (enough to cover the vegetables); bring to a boil then reduce the heat to simmer. Cook for 40-60 minutes.
For the pasta:
Bring a pot of water to boil, add the course salt and cook the pasta according to the instructions located on the package. Check the doneness around 1-2 minutes before it should be ready, remove from heat and drain when it is al dente (slightly firm when bitten).
Add the pasta and parmigiano reggiano cheese to the sauce previously prepared and stir over low heat until combined and the cheese has melted. Serve immediately. Buon appetito!
Note For vegetable based sauces, I like to cook them around 40 minutes but you could also let them simmer for less time.
Recipe by Italicana Kitchen at https://italicanakitchen.com/tagliatelle-asparagus-peas/