Penne rigate with peas, asparagus, and bacon

My son's top two favourite green vegetables are peas and asparagus.  Is that strange?  Sometimes I wonder how many kindergartners adore peas and relish asparagus ... at his age, I sure didn't.

A pasta dish featuring peas and asparagus graced Bon Appétit's cover this month, and given its high chances of a good reception at our home, I made it for supper the other day.

The original recipe uses fettucine, but cited penne as another option.  My husband and I briefly discussed the pasta shape to use, and we couldn't quite picture how one could eat this dish with long pasta without having a plateful of stray peas left at the end:  spear a couple of asparagus, twirl the pasta, and just hope for some clingy peas? 

You see, my husband is a nice guy, but he grew up in Italy and consequently has some pretty strong feelings about pasta.  For long pasta, we have 2 rules at home:

   1) Thou shalt not break, cut, or in any way shorten it.

   2) Thou shalt not EVER use a spoon.

Given those constraints, we couldn't see how fettucine was going to work for us in this dish.  So we opted for penne rigate instead.

As you can see, pasta is taken very seriously chez nous.

This dish has an abundance - but I mean, an abundance - of peas and asparagus, which, to me, screams SPRING!  There is a refreshing, ever-so-slight tang thanks to some fresh lemon juice, which plays very well with the gently-sweet peas and crisp-tender asparagus.  Bacon and cream are also called for, but not in scary, heavy quantities:  just enough to add some personality to the sauce and refine its texture.  

The magazine claims that the meal can be made in 40 minutes - I found that to be true.  The magazine, however, made no claims about how quickly the dish would disappear ... we didn't set any timers, but we had our plates scraped clean in no time!

It was a perfect weeknight springtime meal.  Something tells me that this pasta is going to be a regular at our table.

Penne Rigate 

with Peas, Asparagus and Bacon (or Pancetta)

 Adapted from Bon Appétit, May 2010

Prepare the pasta

Cook in a large pot of boiling salted water, until just tender but still al dente:

  1 lb penne rigate

Reserve ½ cup of the pasta cooking liquid; drain the rest.

Prepare the sauce

Cook in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp:

  4 ounces bacon or pancetta, diced

Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels. Pour off all the rendered bacon fat, leaving 1 Tbsp in the skillet.

To the now-empty skillet, add:

  1 ¼ lbs asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1” pieces

After about 3 minutes, toss in:

  2 cups frozen peas (unthawed)

  ¼ cup green onions, white and green parts, thinly sliced

  2 cloves garlic, minced

Sauté until just tender, another 2-3 minutes.

Assemble the dish

Toss the cooked pasta, the vegetable mixture, and the bacon/pancetta bits all together with:

  ½ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano

  ½ cup heavy cream

  3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

  3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

  ¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

  salt and pepper, as desired

Add the pasta cooking liquid, a few tablespoons at a time, until your desired consistency is reached. The pasta will not be saucy the way a creamy pasta like Alfredo will be, but it should not be dry, either.

Serve immediately, with more Parmigiano Reggiano.