Pasta and fresh asparagus in a creamy Parmesan sauce. |
Ingredients
- 8 ounces whole-wheat pasta, uncooked
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 6 cloves garlic or 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 ½ cups or 1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces
- ¼ cup pasta cooking water, reserved
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes, optional
Instructions
- Bring large pot of water to boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions.
- While pasta is cooking, add olive oil, butter, and garlic to large frying pan.
- Sauté over medium heat for about 2 minutes or until garlic is soft and fragrant. Add asparagus and continue to cook until asparagus is fork-tender, about 10 minutes. Turn off heat.
- Reserve ¼ cup of pasta water and drain pasta.
- Add pasta and 3 tablespoons of pasta water to skillet with asparagus. Mix gently.
- Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over pasta. Add more pasta water by the tablespoon, if needed. Add pinch of red pepper flakes, if using, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix gently and serve.
Notes
Change it Up
- Add cooked chicken, canned tuna or garbanzo beans to make this a main course.
- Make it a Greek pasta salad. Replace the Parmesan with feta cheese, use low-fat Greek dressing instead of Italian, and add cucumbers, chopped, Kalamata olives, and sliced red onion.
- Serve cold over a bed of mixed greens with grape tomatoes, red onion, and fresh squeezed lemon juice.
- Add 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts in Step 6.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 cupCalories: 255calCarbohydrates: 33gProtein: 9gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 16mgSodium: 126mg