Spring is undoubtedly one of my favorite seasons. While all four seasons have their pros and cons, spring has fresh crispy bright green beeaaautiful asparagus. So, we have a winner don’t you agree?
Also I’m not sure if any other season has lighting quite as magical as that late afternoon light we’ve got right now. It seems like all my photos just look automatically better than usual.
And, in addition to above points, I really think this vegan asparagus & mushroom pasta is made to be enjoyed during spring time. Bring on all the fresh produce and delicious tagliatelle!
I’m not usually big with pasta. Having a heavy bowl of pasta makes me feel like a sloth for hours = bye bye productivity. But some bright and cozy evenings like yesterday, having a bowlful of asparagus & mushroom pasta and a glass of white wine is pure bliss.
I spotted this recipe originally on Minimalist Baker and I got an immediate urge to make it. So I rushed to a grocery store and got all the ingredients. This pasta gets its lovely creaminess from vegan cooking cream (I used Alpro) and is brightened by a splash of fresh lemon juice.
I used whole wheat tagliatelle since that’s the way I roll. The recipe is quite simple, as long as you’re careful cooking the asparagus: you do NOT want to overcook it! Rather leave it slightly too crisp than too soft – it’ll keep cooking even after you stop boiling it.
The rest of it comes together easily and the end result is just utterly delicious. I had this with a bunch of friends and that was one of the most silent dinners ever – everyone was just happily “mm-mm”ing to themselves. Silence was only broken by a request – “is there any left?”
I call that a successful dinner.
Pasta with Asparagus and Champignons, for two
- Tagliatelle pasta enough for two
- 200 g of fresh green asparagus
- 200 g of champignons
- 3-6 cloves of garlic, to taste
- Olive oil for cooking
- 1 dl (1/2 cup) vegetable cooking cream (e.g. Alpro or Oatly)
- 1 dl (1/2 cup) of unsweetened almond milk
- Juice of ½ a lemon
- Pinch of black pepper
- Salt to taste
- (1-2 tbsp of nutritional yeast flakes)
Rinse the asparagus and clean the champignons. Remove to stalks from the asparagus carefully by bending the asparagus and throw the woody stalks away. Chop the asparagus into 5 cm long pieces.
Slice the champignons and crush the garlic cloves. Cook the tagliatelle according to instructions.
Meanwhile, preheat a pan with oil and add the asparagus, champignons and half of the garlic into the pan. Sweat the ingredients on high heat for about 3-4 minutes or until the asparagus is nice and crispy. Watch out for overcooking the asparagus as they can become soggy rather quickly. Season with salt and pepper and take the ingredients out of the pan and put them aside.
Preheat a big pan and add oil and the remaining garlic into it. Add cream, almond milk and lemon juice. Bring it to boil and season the sauce with a fair amount of salt and pepper. Lower the heat and add tagliatelle, asparagus and the pasta into the pan and mix with the sauce.
Serve and enjoy immediately, preferably with fresh lemon. Also, nutritional yeast flakes can be added for their cheesy flavor.
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