Test Kitchen: Pasta with Asparagus and Lemon Sauce
By Rachel Priebe, Nutritional Sciences student, Sargent College
Every Wednesday Karen Jacobs EdD, OTR/L, CPE, FAOTA hosts the Sargent Choice Test Kitchen in Stuvi 2 Apt. 2302 from 8-11pm. She invites the BU community into her home to test new Sargent Choice recipes while we cook, drink tea, and enjoy time with friends.
After four years here, I’ve learned to recognize the signs of spring in Boston. They include, but are not limited to: wind, flowers, and Sox games. One other thing says spring to me: asparagus! Its one of my favorite spring vegetables, and if you can buy it local you’ll never go back. The new Sargent Choice recipe that we tested this week was a lovely, bright, springy dish that I immediately told all of my friends about.
First off, who doesn’t love a good pasta dish? We used whole-wheat pasta for this recipe to make it SC, but if you are a little hesitant about the texture, you can use “whole grain” pasta which typically means that it is 51% whole wheat. Asparagus is usually on sale this time of year because it is in season, so price shouldn’t be a barrier. And like I said, if you can buy it local (try a farmers market or Whole Foods) it really enhances the experience.
When we tested this recipe, we made a lot of it. This was great because people were going back for seconds and thirds, with plenty leftover as well. We ended up with a bunch of extra sauce, but since there is no dairy in it we froze it in Tupperware and now we have sauce for lots more springtime meals. One thing we noticed was that the lemon flavor is slightly overpowering, and since I also love lemon this was fine, but if you don’t you might want to cut back on both the zest and the juice. Another important modification was the addition of a bit more cracked black pepper than the recipe called for, just to give depth of flavor.
This recipe can easily be scaled down or up, so whether you are looking for a pasta dish for one or a hundred, I highly recommend this bright, healthy pasta!
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