Asparagus, Blue Cheese and Walnut Pasta Primavera
This pasta dish captures the Italian essence of spring with each delicious forkful.
Gretchen LoweFood stylist, chef and photographer
- prepare
- cook
- 4 servings
- Easy
Loading image...
Caption:Make the most of new season asparagus with this speedy pasta dish.Photo credit:Gretchen Lowe
I’ve been so fortunate to have travelled through Italy twice and hope to do so again one day soon.
In my travels, I was introduced to Primavera — a word that just means ‘spring’ in Italian yet is also used to describe a type of light dish full of fresh seasonal vegetables.
Here’s my version, which combines the freshness of spring asparagus with the boldness of blue cheese and the texture of walnuts.
To make this dish gluten-free, use gluten-free pasta.
Ingredients
- 400g dried pasta
- 40g unsalted butter
- extra virgin olive oil
- 1 bunch asparagus, ends snapped
- 2 shallots, thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- salt and pepper
- 1 cup baby peas
- 1 cup grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 cup walnuts, toasted
- 130g creamy blue cheese, crumbled
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 cup Italian parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to packet instructions.
- While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter with a dash of oil in a large skillet over a medium-high heat. Add the asparagus and shallots. Cook until tender, about 4–5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook another minute. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
- When pasta is almost done, drop in baby peas for no longer than a minute. Drain pasta and peas into a large bowl.
- Add the asparagus, shallots, Parmesan, sour cream, blue cheese, walnuts, zest and parsley and toss through. Season generously with salt and pepper and top with more Parmesan and a drizzle of oil.
