Description
A quick midweek vegetarian pasta dish with asparagus and a creamy lemon sauce. I always use organic lemons whenever I use the zest.
Ingredients
- 2 lemons
- 1 (16 ounce) box penne pasta
- 5 tablespoons butter, divided
- ¾ pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 1 ½ cups vegetable broth, or more to taste
- 4 sprigs fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 pinch white sugar, or to taste
- 2 ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
- ½ cup freshly shaved Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Zest and juice 1 1/2 lemons. Cut remaining lemon half into wedges and set aside.
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add penne and cook
- stirring occasionally
- until tender yet firm to the bite
- about 11 minutes. Drain
- reserving 1 cup of cooking water.
- While penne is cooking
- melt 2 tablespoons butter in a pot over medium heat and cook asparagus until softened
- 4 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and remove from pot.
- Add remaining 3 tablespoons butter and heat until a pinch of flour sprinkled into the pot will just begin to bubble. Whisk in flour to form a thick paste the consistency of cake frosting. Continue cooking
- whisking constantly
- for about 5 minutes. Whisk in cream and vegetable broth and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Stir lemon juice
- lemon zest
- and parsley into the sauce; season with salt
- pepper
- and sugar. Add asparagus and heat through
- about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and penne to the sauce and pour in some of the reserved cooking water. Serve with shaved Parmesan and lemon wedges.
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 40 mins
Servings: 4