We’ve all been there. It’s hard to balance the needs of your job, your volunteer commitments, your children’s schedules, and your own sanity with the desire to make sure that your family is eating a healthy home-cooked meal together every night.
[Trust me – it’s even more challenging when you’re a vegetarian and want to make to make sure that your family is getting enough plant-based protein!]
That’s why this simple easy pasta is a nice dish to have in your culinary repertoire for busy weeknights.
Although we traditionally think of asparagus as a springtime veggie, check out this interesting blog post about growing asparagus in the fall. According to the author, “. . . spring or fall, it’s all the same to the spears.”
So, whether you are buying your asparagus from the market or grocery store – or growing your own – please give my quick and easy pasta recipe a try!
PS – I’ve become a fan of LIDL, the German low-priced grocer that recently entered the Charlotte/Rock Hill market. I found Italiamo Lemon Farfalle there and thought that it was the perfect pasta for this dish. (BTW, the yellow strip on the edge of each bow tie comes from turmeric!)
- 2-3 Tablespoons unbleached flour
- Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- 2 Gardein Chick’n Scallopini, frozen (half the package)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided use
- 1 lb. fresh asparagus, bottoms snapped off, and cut into 1” pieces
- 6 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
- ½ lb. farfalle (Italiamo Lemon Farfalle, if possible)
- 2 lemons, juiced
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (plus a little extra for the table)
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Bring water to boil in a large covered pot for your pasta.
- Put the flour in a shallow bowl and season with salt, pepper, and paprika. Dredge the frozen Chick’n Scallopini in the seasoned flour.
- Heat a large skillet and add 2 tablespoons of butter. Sauté the frozen flour-dredged cutlets about two minutes on each side. Set aside on a plate lined with a paper towel.
- Add 1 tablespoon of butter to the now-empty skillet. When the butter is melted, add the asparagus and sauté for about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds. Turn off the heat, and keep the asparagus and garlic in the skillet.
- Meanwhile, add a tablespoon of salt to the boiling water and cook the farfalle about 6 minutes until it is al dente. While the pasta is cooking, slice the cooked Chick’n Scallopini into strips and then cut each strip in half.
- Reserve a cup of the pasta cooking water before draining the pasta, and then adding it to the asparagus and garlic in the skillet.
- Over very low heat, add the Chick’n Scallopini pieces, the lemon juice, and about ½ cup of the reserved pasta water to the skillet. Toss gently and add the grated cheese and chopped parsley. Add a little more pasta water if needed. Season with freshly ground black pepper and serve with a little more grated cheese if desired.
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