Jewels of Spring Pasta - serves 6

The bounty of spring is just around the corner and after this grueling winter we are all looking forward to the freshness of the season. It is always best to use the "in season" ingredients and early spring give us two gems - asparagus and morel mushrooms. This simple pasta recipe coupled with a nice crisp Semillon/chardonnay is a great way to free us from the winter blues (or greys).

1 cup fresh morels - cleaned and quartered
1 lb. new asparagus - cut into 1" pieces
1/4 lb. Prosciutto, cut into small bits
(or get the pre-sliced package from the deli counter and cut it into strips)
3 Tbs unsalted butter
3 Tbs olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 lb. fettuccine

Begin water for pasta, when boiling cook fettuccine until

al dente, drain and return to pot in which they cooked.

Begin these steps when the pasta is added to the water, then everything is finished at the same time.

Cook asparagus in a medium saucepan of boiling water until tender - about 4 minutes, drain and add to fettuccine.

Melt butter in large skillet then add olive oil. Add the morels and proscuitto and stir until morels are "wilted" approximately 4-5 minutes.

Toss mushroom mixture into pasta and then toss with the freshly grated Parmesan cheese and add pepper to taste.

Serve immediately with a garnish of fresh parsley, it's very pretty, a little rich but oooh sooo goood!

Back to recipe index Back to D.Lisa's main site