Pasta with asparagus and egg cream

Pasta with asparagus and egg cream is a spring-like, light, and tasty dish. Here is how to prepare it.

Ingredients

• 320 g of pasta (linguine or fettuccine work very well)
• 400 g of fresh asparagus
• 4 egg yolks
• 50 g of grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 clove of garlic
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Pasta cooking water as needed

Preparation

1. Clean the asparagus by removing the tougher end of the stem, and cut them into pieces of about 3-4 cm.
2. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and blanch the asparagus for about 2-3 minutes. Drain them and set them aside, keeping the cooking water.
3. In a large frying pan, sauté a clove of garlic with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
4. Add the asparagus to the frying pan and sauté for a few minutes over medium heat.
5. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in the water where you blanched the asparagus, following the package instructions for al dente cooking.
6. While the pasta cooks, prepare the egg cream by beating the yolks with the grated Parmesan, add some pasta cooking water to make the cream more fluid, and add black pepper to taste.
7. Drain the al dente pasta, keeping some of the cooking water, and pour it into the pan with the asparagus.
8. Remove the pan from the heat and incorporate the egg cream by mixing quickly to combine everything and to prevent the egg from setting too much and becoming scrambled.
9. If necessary, add a bit of cooking water to make the pasta more creamy.
10. Serve the pasta with asparagus and egg cream immediately while it’s hot.

Curiosity

This recipe is perfect for bringing out the delicate flavor of asparagus and for enjoying a creamy texture given by the emulsion of egg yolk with Parmesan and pasta cooking water, a technique that is also used in the preparation of other dishes in Italian cuisine like carbonara.