Linguine with Asparagus in Lemon Cream Sauce

Yesterday I spent a lazy morning lounging around in bed browsing through the tv channels when I came upon a show called Bill's Holiday on the new Cooking Channel. Bill Granger is the chef and in the particular episode I saw, he used fresh seasonal ingredients to make a supreme variety of light and bright pasta dishes.

His food has been on my mind for the last 24 hours- Inspired by watching him make Tagliatelle with Fresh Peas and Lemon I decided to make a pasta dish using the basics of his sauce, but with a touch of zing from some shallot and red pepper. Following his cue of using seasonal and fresh produce, I chose garden fresh asparagus and tomato as my veggies.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

8 oz linguine (I used spinach linguine)
1 cup fresh asparagus, cut into 1/2 inch rounds- leave tips whole
1 1/2 TBSP butter
1 1/2 TBSP E.V. olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
2 TBSP minced shallots
1/2 Tsp red pepper flake
3/4 cup white wine*
1 Tsp freshly grated lemon zest
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper

*Sauvignon Blanc works well with this; any reasonably priced bottle is fine- the important thing is to use wine you like the taste of when drinking it!

Garnish:
2/3 cup halved grape or cherry tomatoes (garden fresh if possible!)
6-8 leaves of fresh basil, sliced into thin ribbons (chiffonade)
freshly grated parmesan cheese


Directions:
In a large frying pan, melt butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add shallots to the pan, cooking for 1 minute, then add garlic and red pepper flake, stirring and cooking for an additional minute.

Pour in the white wine and simmer until reduced by half.
Next add the lemon zest and cream and simmer for another 3-4 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, prepare your pasta according to package directions. Add the asparagus in with the pasta for the last minute of cooking- It should be bright green, but still firm.

Drain well and toss with sauce to combine.

Garnish with fresh grape tomatoes, basil and parmesan cheese.

Serve immediately.


Having finished our tasty dinner at 9:30 pm, I have decided that Ed and I are Europeans living with American time constraints. We would be much happier to dine later, entertain later and enjoy life much later into the evening. Unfortunately, we have to wake up in the mornings, so we live on coffee. LOL. Bah!