Wednesday, April 7, 2010

A Taste of Spring: Penne with Asparagus, Spinach and Bacon

It's spring and that means asparagus. Yum! For Easter we had roasted asparagus. It's one of my favorite ways to prepare those delicious little spears.

Roasting asparagus is easy. Just arrange on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkle of kosher salt and a touch of garlic. Stick it in a 450 degree oven and roast for seven minutes. If the spears are a little thick it might take a minute or two longer, but don't overcook it! It should be tender but still crisp.

Another of my favorite ways to serve up asparagus is in this pasta dish. The recipe originally came from Cooking Light, and I love that it's fast and easy to prepare. You can have it on the table even faster if you saute your onion in a little olive oil and stir in crumbled pre-cooked bacon or bacon pieces at the end. (No Bacos allowed!)

Penne with Asparagus, Spinach and Bacon
8 oz. uncooked penne
2 bacon slices
1/2 C. chopped sweet onion
2 1/2 C. sliced asparagus (about 1 lb.)
1 1/2 C. chicken broth
4 C. baby spinach leaves
1/2 C. shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. black pepper
salt to taste

Cook pasta. Drain and keep warm. Cook bacon until crisp and remove from pan. Add onion to bacon drippings. Saute 1 minute. Add asparagus and broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes or until asparagus is crisp-tender. Add pasta, spinach, 1/4 C. cheese and pepper to pan. Toss well. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and crumbled bacon.

Enjoy!

© Trippin' Mama 2010

4 comments:

Mary said...

Even miles away we think the same... for supper tonight we had penne pasta with a white sauce (with the rest of the Easter ham in it) and asparagus!! Wow, of course my asparagus eaters are sparse so that had to be on the side not in the dish!!

susie said...

Sounds great! We also tried the wild rice soup last night which was terrific. Hope the kids are feeling better!

MMOSS said...

We tried this at home tonight. It is delicious! We will definitely be having it again. Hubby loves asparagus, so we will probably eat it a lot this summer. Thanks for sharing!

Mitzi

Christy AKA Trippin' Mama said...

Mitzi, I'm glad you liked it. It's a favorite of ours. Once in a while I'll even pay exorbitant prices for asparagus out of season just so we can eat this dish.

Christy