In my last blog post, I mentioned a new campaign from The Welsh Government’s Food Division. It highlights the fact that good food always begins with good ingredients, and that in Wales, we have our local farmers, growers and fishers to thank for that.
In the spirit of this, I wanted to share a recipe which uses one of my favourite homegrown ingredients – organic Welsh asparagus.
This is a sponsored post, in collaboration with the Welsh Government.
‘Frittedda’ is a light vegetable stew which originates from Sicily, but it also works brilliantly with pasta. It’s the perfect dish for showcasing all sorts of vibrant spring vegetables – and though asparagus is not a traditional ingredient (usually it would be broad beans), the fresh green spears grown sustainably by Paul’s Organic Veg on his farm in Monmouthshire work brilliantly here.
I picked mine up (along with some more organic veg) from Riverside Market.
Ingredients
This recipe uses freshly made egg pasta, which if you’ve never tried making before, I really recommend (you don’t even need a pasta maker, though it does make life easier). We always use this recipe from Antonio Carluccio: Fresh Egg Pasta.
- 30ml extra virgin olive oil
- 150g fresh tagliatelle pasta
- 1 white onion, peeled and finely diced
- 75g garden peas (I used frozen here for ease)
- 150g Welsh asparagus, chopped into 1cm pieces
- 1 tbsp fresh, finely chopped, flat-leaf parsley
- 25g Parmesan (or vegetarian alternative), freshly grated
- Salt to taste
Method
Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the onion and fry gently until soft, about 6-8 minutes. Add the asparagus, and 100ml water, and braise until tender (around 10 minutes). Add the frozen peas, and salt to taste.
Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water for 3 minutes – fresh pasta cooks really quickly so be careful not to over do it! Drain the pasta well, then mix with the sauce. Add the fresh parsley, then divide between two bowls. Sprinkle over the cheese (be generous) and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. I like to add some black pepper before serving.
