4 Things for Spring

a springy pasta, a quick dinner format, some good art, & more

Welcome back to my occasional recommendation roundup, a delicious junk drawer of information, a scrapbook of the kitchen, a potpourri of offerings.

🌱 AN IDEA FOR ASPARAGUS 🌱

This is the time of year in New York when anticipation abates and desire is sated: all the good green stuff appears at the farmers market. The other week I grabbed some asparagus and ricotta, dreaming of pasta, and let them sit around in my fridge until Jamie came over for dinner and I finally had reason to cook something special.

feat. Sfoglini radiatore :)

I toyed around with this Ali Slagle recipe for ricotta pasta, and found that—especially if you blend the ricotta, parm, and pasta water with an immersion blender—it basically tastes like alfredo sauce??? Without like three cups of cream.¹ I blanched some sliced asparagus during the last 30 seconds of the pasta cooking, and it turned out to be the ideal spring dinner, or lunch, to serve to a guest. It’s quick to make—20 minutes, maybe—but still feels special, thoughtful. I made it for my mom for mother’s day. I’ve made it for myself for lazy dinners too, it’s surprisingly good with whole wheat pasta like this. It would be nice with spring peas, or even frozen edamame. Here’s how I make it into a meal for two:

Boil half a pound of short pasta in heavily salted water. While it cooks, combine 1/2 cup whole-milk ricotta, 1/2 cup freshly grated parm, the zest of one lemon and half its juice, and a bunch of ground black pepper in a small bowl or deli container. Slice 4-5 asparagus stalks on the bias, discarding the woody ends. When the pasta is almost al dente, reserve a mugful of pasta water and drop in the asparagus. After 30 seconds or a minute, drain and return the pasta + asparagus to the pot with a splash of the pasta water and turn off the heat. Add another generous splash to the cheese mixture, then use an immersion blender to combine it into a thick, creamy sauce. (If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can just mix everything together in the pot; it will be less blended, but still delicious.) Add to the pot with more pasta water, turn the heat to medium, and stir everything, letting it simmer until the pasta is cooked to your liking and coated with a creamy sauce. Add salt to taste; add more pasta water if it gets too thick. Garnish with basil, or chives, or chili flakes, etc. Serves 2 hungry people.

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🍄 CONDIMENT CORNER 🍄