Spice up your pasta game with this super quick healthy and flavourful pasta recipe. The lemon zest and garlic give the pasta a slight kick while the asparagus provides a hint of colour and crunch. You can eat this dish by itself or add in your meat of choice for more protein. Enjoy!
Ingredients
4 SERVINGS
- 1lb. spaghetti
- 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large bunch asparagus, trimmed, thinly sliced on a deep diagonal
- 4 garlic cloves, smashed
- 4 3"-long strips lemon zest
- 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
- 8 large basil leaves
- 2 lemons, halved
- 2 oz. Parmesan, finely grated (about 1 cup), plus more for serving
Instructions
- Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving 1 1/2 cups pasta cooking liquid.
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium-high until shimmering. Add asparagus, season with salt, and cook, stirring often, until just beginning to take on color, about 1 minute. Add garlic, lemon zest, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat and let sit until pasta is done.
- Add pasta and basil to the pot with asparagus mixture and return to medium-high heat. Squeeze juice from both lemons into the pot and add 2 oz. Parmesan and 1 cup reserved pasta cooking liquid. Cook, tossing vigorously and adding more pasta cooking liquid if needed until sauce is creamy and emulsified and pasta is coated, about 1 minute. Taste and season with more salt if needed. Remove and discard garlic.
- Divide pasta among bowls, placing a lemon strip in each, and top with more Parmesan.
Recipe courtesy of Bon Appetit.
