Pink of Perfection

If you were to take the wintery dish of pasta with cream, peas and prosciutto and blast it with the cold, brisk air of spring and the earthiness of new vegetables pulled from the damp, musky soil, this is what you’d get. It’s got the richness of all the good stuff––pasta, butter, cheese––made wonderfully alive by a preponderance of fresh spring vegetables. At my house, where the husband and wife have somewhat differing opinions about what makes a good dinner (he said: cream, cheese, red meat; she said: vegetables and whole grains), this recipe feels like a perfect compromise. And I hear that, to some degree, that’s what marriage is all about.

Pasta with Peas, Asparagus, Butter Lettuce and Prosciutto
from Bon Appetit
Serves 4

1 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus additional for drizzling
1/4 pound spring onions or green onions (dark green parts discarded); white parts cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices, pale green parts cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
1 tablespoons minced shallot
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup low-salt chicken broth
3/4 pounds asparagus, cut crosswise into 3/4-inch pieces
1 cups shelled fresh peas (from about 2 pounds peas in pods)
1/2 pound campanelle (trumpet-shaped pasta) or medium (about 1-inch) shell-shaped pasta
1/2 head of butter lettuce or Boston lettuce (about 3 ounces), cored, leaves cut into 3/4-inch-wide slices
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese plus additional for sprinkling
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide strips

Melt butter with 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and shallot. Sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper. Sauté until tender (do not brown), about 8 minutes. Add wine; increase heat to medium-high and simmer until liquid is reduced to glaze, about 3 minutes. Add broth and bring to simmer; set aside.

Cook asparagus in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, 2 to 4 minutes, depending on thickness of asparagus. Using skimmer or slotted spoon, transfer to large bowl of ice water. Return water to boil. Add peas and cook until just tender, about 2 minutes. Using skimmer, transfer to bowl with asparagus. Drain vegetables.

Return water in pot to boil. Cook pasta until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, reheat onion mixture. Add lettuce and stir just until wilted, about 1 minute. Add drained asparagus and peas; stir until heated through.

Add pasta, 1 cup Parmesan cheese, and parsley to skillet with vegetables; toss, adding reserved pasta cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls if dry. Season with salt and pepper.

Transfer pasta to large shallow bowl. Sprinkle prosciutto over; drizzle with olive oil. Serve, passing more cheese alongside.

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