Spring Green Lemon & Basil Pasta

This is the pasta we made for my sister and her husband on this unintentionally-late-cooking night. We actually handmade these pasta noodles, which I’ll have to show in another post. Between messy flour, sticky noodles, and it being 11pm… we failed to get photographs of any part of that process.

Despite starting this meal way too late, it comes together super fast. The lemon and olive oil highlight the crunchy spring vegetables in a bright but simple way. And especially if you’re using homemade pasta, the flavors don’t overwhelm the taste of the fresh noodles.

I was pleasantly surprised that this turned out as elegant-looking as it does. Due to exhaustion and hunger, I served the rest of the non-pictured pasta in a giant bowl and we all dug forks in. It’s entertaining at its finest at my house…

spring green lemon & basil pasta

• ½ pound pasta, homemade or store bought - whole wheat, or whatever you like
• ¼ cup, plus 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• splash of white wine (1-2 tablespoons - optional)
• 1 cup chopped asparagus, thin spears, tender parts only
• ½ cup peas (can be frozen)
• 1-2 cups of spinach, roughly chopped
• small handful of basil (about ¼ cup), chopped
• juice and zest of 1 lemon
• pinches of salt and pepper
• pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
• grated parmesan or pecorino cheese to go on top (optional)

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7rbvVnpinnJyaurC60meaqKVfqL2ztc2gZKCqlZq7brzArKuaZZyaurC6jg%3D%3D