I always thought Winter was my favorite season until I get a glimpse of this warmer weather and remember how much I love the Spring and Summer. I wanted to make a dish that reminded me of transitioning from winter into spring and this beautiful time of year. This pasta dish has comfort and creaminess but tons of bright flavors from the asparagus and lemon. I thought it might also be fun to have the exact same ratio of asparagus to pasta. Peas in this dish instead of asparagus would work wonderfully. Add peas and some cooked cubed ham and that also sounds like a delicious dinner. I really could not get enough of this pasta, it’s a recipe you need to cut out and save.

Served as a side dish or a main, it’s an easy weeknight meal that will feed your family of 4 for under $30 dollars.

You will need:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

2 shallots minced

3 cloves garlic minced

½ cup dry white wine

8 oz ditalini pasta (1/2 a box)

red pepper flakes to taste

1 bunch asparagus (ends trimmed, thinly slice the stalks)

4-6 oz mascarpone cheese

½ cup finely grated pecorino romano

lemon zest, additional pecorino, red pepper flakes for serving

Before you begin anything, make sure your veggie, shallots, and garlic are chopped. This dish comes together fast so you really need your mis en plas in place. Boil your water over high heat, and sprinkle a heavy pinch of salt into the water. This will speed up the boiling time as well as flavor your pasta. Salting your water is a great habit to get into!

While your water comes to a boil, add olive oil and butter to a large skillet over medium heat. Add your shallots and garlic to the pan and “sweat” them until soft. They should be almost translucent. This is where a ton of your flavor is going to come from. (I’ve never had a bad dish that started with shallot, butter, garlic, and white wine.)

Season with salt and pepper.

Add in your white wine and scrape up all the bits from the bottom to deglaze for a minute or two. Add in a dash of red pepper flakes to taste. If you don’t have red pepper flakes, a sprinkle of cayenne would work just as well. 

Turn your heat on low while you cook your pasta (9-10 minutes). If your pan with the shallots begins to dry out as you’re waiting for the pasta to cook, add in a bit of pasta water to the pan. Reserve a ladle of pasta water before draining. Once the pasta is al dente, drain and add to the pan with your shallots. Add in the asparagus and a ladle of pasta water as well. Your asparagus will cook in this dish ever so slightly, but still have a little bite to it. It gives a wonderful texture to this dish. Increase your heat to medium low and stir in your mascarpone and pecorino. Cook and stir until everything is creamy and combined. If it’s too thick for your liking, add a little more pasta water to thin it out. Season with salt and pepper. Serve and garnish with some lemon zest, red pepper flakes, olive oil, and more cheese of course.