All I can say to this asparagus one pot pasta: hello lover!
Now isn’t this just a beautiful sight to see?
All that goodness, right there in that pot! Ready to go. SO FRESH.
A few years ago I shared this one pot mushroom and swiss chard pasta and it remains a huge favorite here on the blog. You guys love it! You often remind me how much I love it too.
That classic tomato basil one pot spaghetti is another dish I really love. I think that Martha did it first? Either way, it was the first one that piqued my interest in these one pot dishes.
I mean sure, I can make a lot of stuff in one pot, but there is something secretly magical about throwing ingredients and dry pasta in a pot with liquid, cooking it for 15 minutes and it making a delicious bowl of dinner! Right?
It makes me feel like I’m Max in the kitchen, so excited with the possibilities of what I can cook and all the newness around me.
Max LOVES to be in the kitchen. He loves to be in our real kitchen and help me make things, but he plays in his toy kitchen every single day. He asks us what we would like and makes us the most perfect plates. Sure, they might include a burger with a pancake and a random bunch of grapes, maybe with a pat of butter on the side, but it’s adorable.
And on his “report card” last month, his teacher wrote that during school, he does “dramatic play in the kitchen.” Yes.
DRAMATIC PLAY IN THE KITCHEN?!
It’s essentially what I do daily and that makes me so, so happy. Warms my heart.
Needless to say, that is what I think a magic one pot pasta is all about. It’s amazing that we can throw everything in this pot and watch something like the below come to life.
The asparagus would normally be cooked a little too much for my liking, so I was shocked at how much I love it here. I tend to roast my asparagus to golden, crispy bits. Boiling it with noodles is not my preferred method of consuming the veg. But when it’s combined with the lemon, garlic, mascarpone and pecorino, it tastes like a big bite of spring. It won’t be bright green and it won’t be crisp either, but it’s still delicious!
If you are extra particular about your asparagus, you can throw it in half way through the cook time OR you could even roast it and throw it in at the end.
Side note: If you’re in a pinch and don’t have asparagus – or find yourself making this in another season, you could sub in broccoli!
I stir in the mascarpone as soon as the noodles have absorbed all the liquid. It melts into this flavorful, slightly creamy but not heavy coating on the pasta. Super good. Extra cheese mixed in too. I like to top it with more fresh herbs and if you’d like, you could add more lemon too.
Crushed red pepper on top gives it a bite and freshly cracked black pepper is so good too.
And then you get this! A big bowl of spring magic.
A perfect one pot pasta made with asparagus, shallots, lemon and mascarpone chese. The best weeknight dinner that comes together in a snap!
Remove the woody stems from the asparagus (I do this by seeing where the end snaps off easily!), then chop the asparagus spears into thirds.
Place the asparagus, pasta, garlic, shallot, lemon juice and zest, water, stock, parsley, butter, salt and pepper in a large stock pot. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure the pasta doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.
Once the noodles have absorbed all of the water, remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the mascarpone cheese and the pecorino, stirring well so all of the noodles get some of the cheese. Stir for a few minutes until it melts and is really incorporated into the pasta. Taste the pasta and add more salt and pepper if you feel like it needs it.
Serve the pasta immediately with a sprinkle of crushed red pepper and more pecorino!
Note: if you are particular about the crispness of your asparagus, you can throw it in halfway or even 3/4 of the way through cook time.
Have all of these things besides cheese at home. Making this tonight!!!! cannot wait!!!
I made this last night and it was so lovely!! It cooked quickly and I had to lower the heat a little bit to avoid burning the pasta on the pan, but didn’t need to add any more water! Subbed in shredded parm for the romano and it was delicious :) Ultimate easy comfort food! A bit more hearty w/ the whole wheat pasta. Love the one pot wonders!
Can’t wait to make this! Yum.
I’m making this next week! I think it looks perfect as -is, but I am wondering. . . my FIL and husband would probably really love this with some crisped up bacon on top. What do you think? I’m not a bacon fan, but maybe a sprinkle on their bowls? Would using pancetta be more “authentic”?
oh my gosh that sounds AMAZING. yes yes please do it. i think pancetta would be fantastic.
I have totally embraced the non-vibrant looking, soft veggie thing lately and I’m not sorry about it. This looks so good!
another one of your recipes I will make and make and make and make! Yum!
Jessica, I made this last night. It’s so, so good! I also usually prefer asparagus to be crunchy but I’ve embraced my softer asparagus side in this recipe! Yum!
I made this last night and loved it! I added the asparagus three minutes into the pasta cooking, and it was perfectly cooked – still a little crisp. I only had one pound of asparagus on hand. It was still a good amount, but I will definitely use the full amount next time so it’s loaded up with veggies.
so glad you liked it megan!!
Wow! I’ve never commented before but this was so good I had to say thank you! Perfect quick and delicious meal after a long week.
I made this today and what a disappointing meal. Too clumpy and glue like. No amount of pecorina cheese could help it. Don’t bother making this!!!!!
that’s a bummer laura! not sure why it came out clumpy! it has never done that for me.
This was great, so easy! I made it with gf pasta and it was delicious. The only modification I had to make was to take off some of the water but I think that was because the gf pasta was only 12 oz not 16.
This is so good! Made it tonight and used bucatini. It had so much flavor.
thanks erin! i love bucatini so much.
I put the asparagus in with a few minutes left. We had this last night and it was a huge hit! I will try bacon on top next time!
awesome!! so glad you liked it risa!
Yeah SPRING!!! I will make this with brown rice spaghetti noodles., maybe some cherry tomatoes also. Thank you.
Turned out wonderfully! I reduced the liquid since I didn’t have a full pound of pasta and threw the asparagus in about 4 mins in to cooking. Thanks for the new recipe!
so glad you liked it deirdre!
Made this last night. First “one pot pasta” I have ever made….won’t be the last. Turned out wonderful! We’re already brainstorming other additions such as olives, slivered sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, etc. Grilled some sockeye salmon on the side. Nice complimentary flavors!
I’ve been a skeptic of the one pot pasta, but decided to give it a try! I halved the recipe and used some short pasta noodles from Trader Joe’s – it turned out great! Did the bacon on top and that was perfection. Will be trying your other one pot pasta recipes next!