Anna Shepherd's Raw Asparagus & Lemon Spaghetti

/

We are approaching asparagus season at the end of April, so what better time to share another delicious recipe from Anna Shepherd’s upcoming book Love Vegetables. This is a super fresh and zingy recipe with lemon, chilli and asparagus ribbons - spring time heaven!

TIMINGS: 30 MINUTES

SERVES 4–6

Ingredients

  • 2 bunches of asparagus (about 800g/1¾lb in total)

  • 2 small unwaxed lemons

  • 6 garlic cloves, finely sliced

  • Large bunch of parsley (about 100g/3½oz), leaves and stalks separated

  • 500g (1lb 2oz) spaghetti

  • 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

  • ¼ tsp dried chilli flakes

  • Finely grated Parmesan cheese

To serve

Salt and pepper

Disclaimer: this calls for spanking fresh asparagus. A good freshness test is whether the spears are firm with tightly closed tips; if they bend easily, it will be impossible to peel them into ribbons, so you’d be better cooking them in 3cm (1¼in) pieces to stir through the pasta instead.

Trim the tough ends from the asparagus by cutting 2cm (¾in) off the base. Trim more if the base of the asparagus feels dry and looks fibrous. Use a vegetable peeler to peel the asparagus spears into thin ribbons into a large bowl.

Fill a large saucepan with water and add a tablespoon of salt. Place on the hob to come to the boil. Meanwhile, cut 5mm (¼in) off both ends of one of the lemons. Discard the ends and finely slice the trimmed lemon into thin rounds, removing any pips as you go. Very finely chop the lemon rounds, almost to a paste, then set aside in a small bowl with the garlic. Finely chop the parsley stalks and add them to the lemon and garlic.

By now the water for the pasta should have come to the boil. Tip in the spaghetti and cook for 8 minutes, swirling the pasta so it doesn’t stick. While the pasta is cooking, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a small frying pan over a medium heat.

Add the lemon and garlic mixture to the frying pan, along with the chilli flakes. Fry, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is just beginning to turn golden and the ingredients in the pan are intensely fragrant, about 4 minutes. Roughly chop the parsley leaves. If your asparagus isn’t firm or fresh enough to peel into ribbons, add the 3cm (1¼in) pieces of chopped asparagus to the pasta to boil for 3 minutes.

After the pasta has been cooking for 8 minutes, ladle 350ml (12fl oz/1½ cups) of pasta water into a jug. Drain the spaghetti, then immediately return it to the saucepan along with the prepared asparagus, parsley leaves and 250ml (9fl oz/1 cup) of the pasta cooking water. Off the heat, quickly use tongs to turn the asparagus and pasta together until the asparagus loses its perkiness. Add the garlic and lemon mixture to the pasta along with a good grind of pepper and stir to combine. Cut the remaining lemon in half and squeeze over the pasta. The liquid in the pan should create a silky, emulsified looking sauce. If not, add the rest of the pasta cooking water and continue to stir until the pasta looks glossy and creamy.

Divide the pasta between warm bowls and drizzle over the remaining oil. Grate over a generous snowfall of Parmesan just before serving.

Variations

Slice 400g (14oz) mangetout (snowpeas) into ribbons to toss through the pasta instead.

Love Vegetables is available from April 4th, order here.