Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Pasta with Asparagus, Pancetta, and Pine Nuts

 
As you may have noticed, we've been eating a lot of desserts around here lately. So, in the interest of balance, here's another recipe from the Cooking Light files.  This is from the current issue and it has all kinds of good things in it... pasta, pine nuts, and pork products. The one thing I found weird about the recipe was that it has you toast the pine nuts and cook the pancetta in the oven (these are things I'd normally think to do on the stove).  However, we followed the recipe and it came out great (but I still think you don't really need to turn on your oven for this). Final verdict? This is a satisfying dish that's easy to prepare, and it's only 385 calories per serving, so eat up!

Pasta with Asparagus, Pancetta, and Pine Nuts
from Cooking Light

Ingredients:
8 oz uncooked cavatappi pasta
1 lb asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 tsp. minced garlic
3 tbs. pine nuts
2 oz diced pancetta
2 tbs. fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup crumbled Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cook pasta according to package directions; add asparagus to pan during last 3 minutes of cooking. Drain. Sprinkle pasta mixture with garlic; return to pan, toss well.

While pasta is cooking, arrange pine nuts in a single layer on a jelly roll pan. Bake for 3 minutes or until golden and fragrant, stirring occasionally. Place in a small bowl.

Increase oven temperature to 475 degrees.

Arrange pancetta on jelly-roll pan. Bake for 6 minutes or until crisp. Drain on paper towels.

Combine lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle over pasta mixture; toss well to coat. Sprinkle with pine nuts, pancetta, and cheese.

Makes 4 servings.


Download a printable recipe.
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