I did it again. I was over-zealous in my produce purchase last week, falling victim to yet another 2-for-1 sale. And by victim, I mean “sucker.” Two pounds of asparagus and only one mouth. (but at least it’s a big one!). I get excited over vegetables – a completely foreign concept to some. ::Cough:: My husband ::Cough::
My kitchen has been very quiet lately. It’s hard to get moving in the kitchen when you’re covered in dry wall dust and paint. Luckily, those two projects should be done soon and then we’ll be on to the next big thing in a few of months. The good news is “the next big thing” involves me getting a whole new kitchen! Goodbye secluded 1970’s galley kitchen, hello 21st century open floor plans! The bad news is we’ll probably live on cereal and Hot Pockets for a couple of weeks 🙂 But anyway – back to asparagus, my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging, which is being hosted by its founder, Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen.
My favorite way to eat asparagus is to oven-roast it with olive oil that has been heated with red pepper flakes and garlic or toss it with a spoonful of pesto and then roast. Yum! I didn’t think I could get tired of it – but then I ate it as a side dish to dinner and lunch for three days straight and forced myself to move on.
A recipe for Asparagus Ribbons with Lemon and Goat Cheese in the latest issue of Cooking Light more than caught my eye this morning – it suckered me in. Absolutely starving with veggie peeler in hand, I made three “ribbons” and quit. I was just too hungry and too busy to devote that much time ribbon-izing asparagus for lunch. There’s always dinner!
Pasta with Asparagus, Roasted Red Peppers, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
A quick pasta toss made with fridge and pantry staples.
Ingredients
- 8 oz rigatoni, cooked and drained*
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 8 stalks asparagus, cut to pasta length
- pinch of red pepper flakes
- 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, diced
- 1/4 cup roasted red bell peppers, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup feta, crumbled
Instructions
- Heat the oil over med-high heat and add asparagus and red pepper flakes.
- Saute for 5 minutes, until asparagus just begins to brown a bit. Turn the heat down to low and add sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red bell peppers, and the garlic.
- Once the garlic begins to brown, remove from heat.
- Toss with cooked pasta and divide between two bowls. Top with feta and serve.
Notes
Yields: 2 servings
Estimated time: 20 minutes
For more asparagus ideas, check out:
Quick & Easy Asparagus Tarts
Asparagus Pizza with Rosemary & Goat Cheese
Oven-Roasted Asparagus
That sounds like my kind of dish!
It would be a great addition to Presto Pasta Nights.
Hope all your kitchen hell is over soon, it will worth it! Please post
some photos when it is all finished!
You should have just tossed in the goat cheese and had it all!
But, then, basil feta sounds pretty yummy! I didn’t know one could get too much asparagus…glad to see you are coping – poor thing…
Yummmm – that looks gorgeous!
This does sound like a great combination. I love the idea of asparagus and sun-dried tomatoes.
Did you send me the link? I don’t think I’ve gotten it. Be sure to send it to me so I don’t miss you in the recap.
Shawnda….yum!!! I love asparagus. And…looking back at all your fabulous posts I have missed…delicious, scrumptious, must try! The Peach-o de Gallo? Brilliant!
I have an hour and a half until I can get anywhere near eating my dinner and I have right now a vicious growling stomach. This is just heaven, I love the color contrast in the items in your dish. That beautiful green asparagues and those beautiful pasta tubes. Oh my.
I made this last night and it was awesome! I made a few alterations to it so my husband would eat it (added Classico tomato sauce and sprinled parm cheese on top) and he scarfed it down. Combine this with a nice salad and some french bread and you’ve got an excellent meal!