Kids & Family
Queens Eats: Angel Hair Pasta with Asparagus
Try your hand at this tasty pasta dish from Giulia Melucci's memoir.
This article was written by Erin Walsh.
In making my way through the canon of foodie memoirs, I recently finished reading “I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti” by Giulia Melucci.
Melucci, a PR executive for Vanity Fair magazine, chronicles her tales in the New York dating scene, while sprinkling in recipes that she made for each of her paramours and includes some meals that she made for herself to nurse a broken heart.
Her luck with dating is so bad that the book is, at times, painful to digest. Yet, it remains intensively readable throughout and you end up rooting for the heroine to find true love in the end.
I’m happy to report that I Googled the author and she was married last year to the editor of Film Comment magazine.
I decided to make Melucci’s recipe for Angel Hair Pasta with Asparagus, substituting angel hair with thin spaghetti.
This dish, although minimalist, is tasty for a warm spring day. Enjoy.
Angel Hair Pasta with Asparagus (Source: I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti by Giulia Melucci)
Note: I used thin spaghetti, which works just as well as angel hair pasta.
Ingredients
1 pound asparagus
2 tablespoons olive oil
Pinch of red hot pepper flakes
1 clove garlic, sliced thinly
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup white wine
½ pound angel hair pasta
Freshly grated Parmigiano or pecorino
Freshly ground pepper
Directions
1. Wash asparagus and use only the tenderest parts. You can determine which those are by breaking each stalk with your hands. The tough fibers will separate at exactly the right place on their own. Cut the remains diagonally into one-inch pieces.
2. Warm the olive oil over medium heat, then add the red pepper flakes and garlic. Sauté until the garlic is golden, then add the asparagus and coat with olive oil. Add salt, cook for five minutes, then add the wine and cook for 10 minutes or until the asparagus has softened to your liking.
3. Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package, stirring often. Drain into a colander and add to the skillet with asparagus. Stir and cook over low heat for about 20 seconds, then serve in warmed bowls. Sprinkle with cheese and ground pepper, if desired.
In making my way through the canon of foodie memoirs, I recently finished reading “I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti” by Giulia Melucci.
Melucci, a PR executive for Vanity Fair magazine, chronicles her tales in the New York dating scene, while sprinkling in recipes that she made for each of her paramours and includes some meals that she made for herself to nurse a broken heart.
Her luck with dating is so bad that the book is, at times, painful to digest. Yet, it remains intensively readable throughout and you end up rooting for the heroine to find true love in the end.
I’m happy to report that I Googled the author and she was married last year to the editor of Film Comment magazine.
I decided to make Melucci’s recipe for Angel Hair Pasta with Asparagus, substituting angel hair with thin spaghetti.
This dish, although minimalist, is tasty for a warm spring day. Enjoy.
Angel Hair Pasta with Asparagus (Source: I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti by Giulia Melucci)
Note: I used thin spaghetti, which works just as well as angel hair pasta.
Ingredients
1 pound asparagus
2 tablespoons olive oil
Pinch of red hot pepper flakes
1 clove garlic, sliced thinly
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup white wine
½ pound angel hair pasta
Freshly grated Parmigiano or pecorino
Freshly ground pepper
Directions
1. Wash asparagus and use only the tenderest parts. You can determine which those are by breaking each stalk with your hands. The tough fibers will separate at exactly the right place on their own. Cut the remains diagonally into one-inch pieces.
2. Warm the olive oil over medium heat, then add the red pepper flakes and garlic. Sauté until the garlic is golden, then add the asparagus and coat with olive oil. Add salt, cook for five minutes, then add the wine and cook for 10 minutes or until the asparagus has softened to your liking.
3. Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package, stirring often. Drain into a colander and add to the skillet with asparagus. Stir and cook over low heat for about 20 seconds, then serve in warmed bowls. Sprinkle with cheese and ground pepper, if desired.
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