Penne With Asparagus
"This is from Vegetarian Times. Usually I have to tweak their recipes to make them work for me, but this one is good just the way it is. It could be because my homemade sauce is so flippin' delicious, lol ;)! Or it could just be a good recipe. That's probably it. I use soymilk to keep it dairy-free, but I imagine the dairy version is just as good (probably better if you prefer dairy!)."
photo by White Rose Child
- Ready In:
- 25mins
- Ingredients:
- 9
- Serves:
-
4
ingredients
- 8 ounces penne or 8 ounces ziti pasta
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 shallots, finely chopped (you can substitute a clove of garlic and some chopped onion if you don't have shallots)
- 2 cups prepared tomato sauce
- 2⁄3 cup half-and-half or 2/3 cup plain soymilk
- 2 lbs thin asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1/2 in. pieces
- 1⁄2 teaspoon dried tarragon
- 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
- 1⁄2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
directions
- Bring large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta; stir to prevent sticking. Cook pasta until just tender, according to package directions, about 10 minutes. Drain well.
- Meanwhile, in large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 6 to 7 minutes.
- Stir in tomato sauce and half-and-half or soymilk, increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Add asparagus and tarragon and reduce heat to low. Partially cover and cook until asparagus are tender and sauce is slightly thickened, 10 to 12 minutes.
- Add pasta to asparagus mixture along with salt and pepper. Toss until well coated. Serve hot.
Questions & Replies
Got a question?
Share it with the community!
Reviews
-
Yummmmmmy! My mom wasn't sure she'd like this but we both ate the leftovers for lunch the last two days, so obviously it was a hit! I think 8 oz pasta is too much for the sauce; I used about 5-6 oz, which was just right and made 6 servings. Also, I just used crushed tomatoes and added some italian herbs. It's fine with soymilk- and as a last note, you can sprinkle each serving with coarse salt instead of table salt, to give it a Mediterranean flavor! I'll have this whenever asparagus is in season!!
Tweaks
-
Yummmmmmy! My mom wasn't sure she'd like this but we both ate the leftovers for lunch the last two days, so obviously it was a hit! I think 8 oz pasta is too much for the sauce; I used about 5-6 oz, which was just right and made 6 servings. Also, I just used crushed tomatoes and added some italian herbs. It's fine with soymilk- and as a last note, you can sprinkle each serving with coarse salt instead of table salt, to give it a Mediterranean flavor! I'll have this whenever asparagus is in season!!
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Books and cooking are my passions...I love cookbooks by default. I will begin working on a Masters in English this coming fall...hopefully I'll still have time to cook! Someday I'd like to be able to publish my own cookbook from my family's recipes, but for now I'm just going to concentrate on getting my degree and becoming a better cook. I have an amazing boyfriend who, at 30, is just learning how to like vegetables and two rad, stripey cats.
