ziti with basil, asparagus, and balsamic glaze

By Kathy Johnson

We wanted to eat something light and tasty without meat. This recipe with pasta only required a type of tube pasta with ridges. Other pastas used could be campanelli, penne rigate, fussili, rigatoni or even orecchiette.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pound of pasta
• 1 pound of fresh asparagus
• 1 large chopped red onion
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 cup fresh chopped basil
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup fresh grated pecorino romano cheese
• 1 tbsp salt
• salt and pepper to taste

Details

Servings 4
Preparation time 5mins
Cooking time 20mins

Preparation

Step 1

1. Start by bringing 4 qts of water to a boil. Add 1 tbsp salt to season.

2. Place 3/4 cup of balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan and keep at a slow simmer adjusting heat to where it does not boil (15 min). Simmer until balsamic is reduced down to 1/3 cup of syrupy vinegar.

3. While balsamic is simmering, place 1 pound of pasta in boiling water. Start checking after 9 to 10 minutes to make sure it is still a bit al dente.

4. While pasta is cooking, thinly slice a large red onion and put aside. Cut asparagus in a bias to a similar length as that of the pasta after cutting off the tough ends. Place 2 tbsp of olive oil on a pan and heat. Add red onion and asparagus to hot pan. Add 1/4 tbsp of red pepper flakes as well as a pinch of salt and some fresh ground pepper. Leave on heat for 3 minutes before stirring to get a bit of a sear on the asparagus. Cook the asparagus through until tender. It should take about 5 minutes to soften the onion and asparagus.

5. Once pasta is finished cooking, keep some of the water after draining pasta in case needed. Place pasta back in the warm pot. Add the asparagus and onion as well as 1 cup of fresh chopped basil and 1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice, 1 cup of fresh grated pecorino romano and 3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil.

6. Mix pasta with the ingredients mentioned above. Serve in a nice bowl and add a drizzle of the syrupy balsamic vinegar on top of pasta.

7. ENJOY!