Spaghetti con le Punte di Asparagi

Name: Spaghetti con le Punte di Asparagi (Spaghetti and Asparagus Tips in a Tomato Sauce)
Prep time: 40 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: Serves 4 as a first course, or 3 as a main course
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 375 g (12 oz) spaghetti; salt and pepper; 125 ml (4 fl oz) passata (sieved tomatoes); 150 ml (¼ pint) vegetable stock; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley; 125 ml (4 fl oz) passata (sieved tomatoes); 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 2 shallots, chopped very finely; 500 g (1 lb) asparagus; grated parmesan cheese, to serve; salt and pepper

Spaghetti and Asparagus Tips in a Tomato Sauce

Preparation info

Serves
4
as a first course

Difficulty
Medium
Ready in
40 min

Appears in

Pasta-lover's Cookbook

By Anna Del Conte

Published 1994

About

In Umbria, the locals use wild asparagus spears for this dish. And what a delicacy they are! The English fine’ asparagus, when in full season, is very suitable.

Ingredients

500 g (1 lb) asparagus
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Europe
Italy
Umbria
Starter
Main course
Vegetarian
Pasta
Mediterranean

Method

Cut off the woody ends of the asparagus spears to the point where they start to offer resistance to the knife. Wash and dry the spears. Cut off a dozen tips and reserve for decoration. Chop the rest to the size of grains of rice (a food processor makes light work of this task).
Simmer the asparagus tips in a little saucepan of boiling, salted water. Drain when al