Penne With Asparagus and Cream Sauce

"A beautifully simple garlicky cream sauce, roasted asparagus and whole wheat penne come together for an excellent vegetarian meal."
 
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photo by kiwidutch photo by kiwidutch
photo by kiwidutch
photo by kiwidutch photo by kiwidutch
Ready In:
30mins
Ingredients:
13
Serves:
8-16
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ingredients

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directions

  • Prepare pasta according to box directions.
  • While pasta is cooking, wash asparagus, break off the woody stems and arrange on a cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper. Broil for 5-10 minutes until the asparagus is tender (to your personal taste). Once cooked, chop asparagus roughly and toss it with drained pasta in a large serving bowl.
  • Melt butter in a sauce pan and add garlic, sauteing until it is turning golden and fragrant. Remove from heat.
  • Whisk in wheat flour to form a roux, being careful to avoid any lumps. When it is perfectly smooth, add white wine, whisking to incorporate.
  • Return saute pan to the heat, allow alcohol to evaporate (should take about 30 seconds) and immediately whisk in heavy cream.
  • Continuing to whisk, add shredded Gouda and stir gently until it melts. Once melted, add remaining ingredients and bring to temp., or just until the sauce begins to bubble.
  • Pour sauce over pasta and asparagus. Toss and garnish with toasted walnuts, if desired.

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Reviews

  1. Yum! the garlic comes though nicely and the wine in the sauce elevates it from just a plain cheese sauce, all parts of this recipe went very well with the asparagus. I couldn't get regular sized green asparagus when I went shopping and the usual dutch white asparagus on offer looked rather tired, so I opted for fresh green baby asparagus tips and they worked just fine. I did buy penne pasta especially for this recipe but DH who works from home polished it off for his lunches during the week so I came home from work and was forced to substitute the tagliatelle that we had in the cupboard instead... it doesn't effect the result I think, which is a nice blend of flavours. DH commented that whilst he thought it was good, that it needed a "little something extra" and suggested maybe a handful of fresh basil? We also never mind eating a vegetarian meal, but this time DH said that he missed eating meat when he ate this. (something he doesn't often say)Next time I will make a meat dish on the side. Please see my rating system: 4 wonderful stars for an easy and tasty recipe that I would be happy to make again. Made for Pick-a-Chef Autumn 2008. Thanks !
     
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/adoptedspring08.jpg"> Pescetarian, lovin' the hippie-eats, learned to cook authentic Japanese fare in Kyoto! Okay, I figured I should add a bit to the above, so here goes: I'm a on-air personality on a radio station in the city where I live. My girlfriend and I recently bought an art gallery and are in the midst of remodelling the lofts above it for a living space. My girlfriend and I travel frequently - we just got back from a three week trip to Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil - and I love to pick up recipes as I go. We've been vegetarian (although we eat fish) for about a year and a half and I absolutely love it. We eat tons of fresh veggies and fruit and pasta and grains and a moderate amount of fish...and I can't imagine ever craving meat in my diet again! My family are a very meat-and-potatoes type of mid-western, so they are absolutely baffled by this. I think they must imagine what goes on their dinner-plates (Steak, a few pieces of broccoli, a baked potato) and wonder how we can survive on what's left after you remove the meat. Luckily, I'm a pretty good cook - no, make that a very daring cook! No fear! - and my girlfriend is kind of human garbage disposal. Seriously, she's never met an obscure ethnic dish she didn't like. So, that's it for now.
 
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