Creamy Asparagus Pasta

This was something that I tried yesterday. I really like Asparagus, but coming from an Indian family, it wasn’t a vegetable my mum cooked with. So - I have been experimenting with my own recipes!

The last time I made a creamy pasta, Sudarshan and Divya hated it! Neither Sudarshan , nor Divya like the smell of milk / cream, so the pasta was a disaster. I ended up having to eat the same pasta for lunch for a whole week! I believe I learnt from that mistake and so I limited the cream, left out the milk and made sure to add plenty of spices this time!

Ingredients:

4-5 cups water
10 – 12 asparagus (the thickest part of the stalk removed)
2 cups pasta (Spirals / Penne or Shells)
½ cup thickened cream
1 tablespoon margarine
Salt (to taste)
1-2 teaspoon Chilli powder
1 teaspoon Thai Seasoning (you could substitute this for garam masala or morroccon seasoning I suppose...)
Fresh herbs (I used dill – but oregano, basil or even coriander would work)

Method:

1)In a big pot bring 4-5 cups of water to boil with a little salt. Adding salt to water ensures that the water boils at a higher temperature and so vegetables cook faster.
2)Place the asparagus in the water and boil for 5-6 minutes, until the asparagus (es?) turn a bright green and are just tender.
3)While the Asparagus is cooking, add the margarine and cream to a saucepan and simmer for a minute or two. Add a little salt.
4)Scoop out the cooked asparagus from the pot, add to the creamy sauce and allow the sauce to simmer for a minute or so with the asparagus.
5)Meanwhile, add the pasta to the water and allow it to cook.
6)While the pasta is cooking, blend the cream and asparagus together in a blender (pulse for a minute).
7)To the blended sauce, add the thai seasoning and chilli powder and simmer for another 1-2 minutes.
7)Remove excess water from the cooked pasta. Add the Asparagus / Cream sauce and mix well.
8)Turn off heat and dress with fresh herbs.
9)Serve warm

Both Sudarshan and I really liked it. Because the cream was boiled and with the addition of the asparagus, most of the “milky” smell was gone. Also, the chilli powder and thai seasoning, seemed to get rid of the “bland” taste that Sudarshan associates with any food that isn’t Indian!

Pasta served with asparagus and cream,
contributed to our overall dinner scheme.
For ‘Italian’ food to taste less bland,
Chilli and seasoning was added on demand!