The other day I mentioned I was going to try and make Farfalle with Mascarpone, Asparagus & Hazelnuts from the April issue of Bon Appetit. This morning my husband and I did our typically early grocery shopping, and the store we frequent did not have three items needed for the recipe: mascarpone cheese, hazelnuts or chives. Lacking the proper ingredients for a dish has never stopped me before, so instead I picked up a container of ricotta cheese (part skim); slivered almonds (which I toasted in a pan with butter), and green onions (which I used along with the greens in place of the chives; the ends trimmed off). Additionally, I dashed in some Romano cheese rather than Parmesan.

 

Perhaps the only thing missing from the recipe was the inclusion of garlic in any form, although it certainly didn’t detract from the flavor of the dish.

 

My modified version of the recipe follows:

 

Farfalle with Mascarpone, Asparagus & Hazelnuts

1.5 LBS slender asparagus, trimmed, cut on diagonal into 2” lengths (about 1 C)

3 TBS olive oil

16 ounces farfalle (bow-tie pasta)

1 container (8 oz.) ricotta cheese (part-skim)

¼ C Romano cheese

½ C slivered almonds, toasted in butter

Butter (for almonds)

3 TBS fresh green onions, chopped (including greens)

Salt & pepper to taste

 

Preheat the oven to 450° F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil; place asparagus on prepared sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat and spread in a single layer. Roast until asparagus is tender, about ten minutes. (Can be prepared two hours ahead; let stand at room temperature). Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but firm to bite; stirring occasionally. Drain, reserving one cup of pasta cooking water. Return pasta to pot; stir in ricotta, Romano cheese and asparagus. Toss over medium-low heat until pasta is coated with sauce and mixture is heated through, adding reserved pasta water by ¼ cupfuls if dry, about three minutes. Mound the pasta in a large shallow serving bowl; sprinkle with slivered roasted almonds, green onions and more Romano cheese.

 

My husband dislikes asparagus (or thought he did); however, he loved the dish and went back for two more servings.