Pasta with Spring Asparagus & Peas

Spring on a plate. This is the kind of pasta you make the moment asparagus shows up at the farmers market and the first peas start arriving in the freezer aisle or the garden. Bow-tie or fusilli pasta works best because the shape catches the cut asparagus pieces and frozen peas in its pockets, so you get vegetables in every forkful rather than at the bottom of the bowl.

The sauce is barely a sauce: butter, onion, a small pour of stock that reduces around the asparagus until it just hits crisp-tender, and a squeeze of lemon juice to brighten everything at the end. Fresh thyme during cooking and chopped basil at the finish layer in herbal complexity. A shower of grated Parmesan ties it all together and adds the only real richness the dish needs.

Pro Tips

• Slice the asparagus on a sharp diagonal. The angled pieces are short enough to fork up with pasta and show their distinctive cut edge.
• Add the peas at the end, after the heat is reduced. They are already cooked from frozen and turn to mush if they simmer too long.
• Reserve some pasta cooking water before draining. A splash thins the sauce and helps it coat the pasta if needed.
• Add the lemon juice gradually, tasting as you go. Too much will overwhelm the delicate spring vegetables.
• Use real Parmesan, not pre-grated. The pre-grated stuff has anti-caking agents that prevent even melting.

Variations

• Add cooked shrimp or sliced chicken breast for a heartier non-vegetarian version.
• Swap the asparagus for thin green beans or sliced sugar snap peas as the season shifts.
• Stir in a dollop of mascarpone or cream cheese for a richer, creamier finish.