A QUICK PASTA DISH for Spring: asparagus, artichokes, peas

The pictures tell the story.

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I use good quality pasta and sometimes interesting shapes. Croxetti (also called corzetti or curzetti) is a traditional type of pasta from Liguria; they are in the shape of flat medallions and usually stamped with a decorative design.

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Use this  sauce made with Spring vegetables as a dressing for the cooked pasta.

 

Artichokes:strip them of their outer, tough leaves and cut vertically straight down the middle and into thin slices; each half of the artichoke can be cut into eight pieces or more. Rub the artichoke slices with a cut lemon as you work to stop it discolouring.

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Strip the fibrous covering off the artichoke stalks and slice  the remaining centre of the stalk into thin slices. To do this, cut off the very end of the stem and then strip the  covering or use a paring knife to cut off the covering – expect the covering to be thick.

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Asparagus are prolific in Spring. Once the tough bottom end of each asparagus is snapped off and discarded, slice the remaining stalks thinly as they will need more cooking than the top end of the asparagus.

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Sauté the sliced artichokes and stalks in extra virgin olive oil. Add 1/2 cup of white wine and a little stock and seasoning.  Cover with a lid and braise until softened. Remove from the pan and set aside.

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Spring onions are always handy to add flavour and a few peas or broadbeans are excellent in Spring.

Sauté  the spring onions (sliced) in some extra virgin olive oil, add the asparagus and peas (or broadbeans) and a little salt and pepper. I also add  about 1/2 teaspoon of sugar. Toss them around in the hot pan until softened (I like to keep the vegetables a little firm). You may wish to sauté these vegetables in two stages – overcrowding the pan is not a good idea.
Return the artichokes to the pan and heat through. Add a dollop of butter, a little grated nutmeg, some chopped parsley or some basil leaves .

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Dress the cooked pasta with the vegetable sauce. If you wish,cut off the very end of the stem, and peel the tough outside layer of the stem with a vegetable peeler. present it with a dollop of ricotta or grated Parmisan cheese.

As a variation,  and if fennel is still in season,I sometimes add  sauteed  thinly sliced fennel to this dish.

Artichokes are called Carciofi in Italian and there are several recipes on my blog  Key in “carciofi” in search button.