Lemon Asparagus Pasta
with peach & corn salad
I knew this dish was going to win a lot of folks over. It's got such few ingredients, but packs in so much flavor. For favorites week, we're pairing it with our peach & corn salad. I want to make sure you get plenty of summer produce before it's too late!
Ingredients
- Asparagus - 2 lbs
- Garlic - 4 cloves, minced
- Basil - 2 sprigs, sliced
- Pennette - 3/4 lbs ((or sub with other short pasta))
- Olive oil - 1/4 cup
- Parmesan cheese - 2 oz, grated
- Lemon - 1/2, juice of
- Pine nuts - 1/4 cup
- Corn - 2 ears, kernels
- Peaches - 2, sliced
- Balsamic vinegar - 1 1/2 Tbsp
- Maple syrup - 1 tsp
- Olive oil - 3 Tbsp
- Mixed greens - 1/4 lb
- Sliced almonds - 1/4 cup
- Cotija or feta cheese - for serving
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Asparagus - Snap ends off and then chop into 2" (5 cm) long pieces. If spears are thick, slice in half lengthwise first and then chop into shorter pieces.
- Corn - Shuck (remove outer leaves), shave off kernels and then microwave for 2 to 3 minutes, until tender. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Garlic / Basil / Peaches - Prep as directed.
Unlock this meal along with hundreds of smart meal plans and never stress about "What's for dinner?" again
Try for freeLearn More
Make
- Cook pasta in heavily salted boiling water until it's al dente (tender but with a bite). Save 1 cup (236 ml) of cooking water before draining.
- Heat up a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add in oil and then minced garlic to heated oil. Once you can smell the garlic, add in asparagus with a sprinkle of salt. Saute for 2 minutes.
- Add in drained pasta and pasta water. Cook until the water has thickened into a sauce, ~3 more minutes. Turn off heat and add in parmesan cheese and juice from half a lemon. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish pasta with basil and pine nuts.
- Whisk together balsamic, maple syrup, and oil. Season to taste with salt & pepper. For more vinaigrette ideas, check out this video.
- Toss vinaigrette with greens, corn, and peaches. Top with almonds and desired amount of cheese. Enjoy with your summer pasta.
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
7 reviews
This was quite good! Simple, well flavored, and I liked the high ratio of asparagus compared to pasta. I couldn't find good peaches so went without, but the salad was still delicious.
Loved it, as did my family. The pasta needed a bit of extra salt. Since I made it in the middle of winter, I used pears instead of peaches in the salad, and opted out of the corn altogether. It was still delicious--great dressing!
Not enough seasoning on the pasta for us (so would rate it 2 *'s) but the salad was excellent so will give it 3 *'s.