Sew Unique in CO: I'm Sorry, Did You Say Asparagus?

I love asparagus, LOVE it!

It's my all time favorite vegetable, so much so that I even attempted to grow some in my garden...

You will be shocked to hear that I was marginally successful, every year I get 2-3 teeny tiny aspargus shoots...

Anyway, I have another pasta recipe for you and this dish is all about the asapragus!

Ingredients:

1 bundle of asparagus

1/2 onion

1 red pepper

1 clove garlic

1/2 box of campanella pasta (penne works just as well)

1/2 bag of Barilla spinache and cheese tortellini

2-3 tbsp olive oil

1 tblsp butter

1 large lemon

1 tsp salt

Red pepper flakes 1/4-1 tsp depending on heat desired

Step one is to get that pasta boiling!

The tortellini has a slightly longer cook time than the campanella that I use, so I start the tortellini first and let it cook for a minute before adding the second pasta, that way I can cook both pastas together...

While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil on medium heat, and chop the red pepper and onion into bite sized pieces...

saute the onion and pepper for about 3 minutes, adding the salt and red pepper flakes, and stirring occasionally. Next, toss in the minced garlic and continue to cook for another minute...

And now for the lemon, another favorite ingredient of mine!

Add the lemon zest to the mixture on the stove...

The next step is to add the lemon juice, and while you can simply use your hand to squeeze the juice out, I happen to have a very special kitchen tool reserved for such an occasion...

I love this juicer, it's an antique inherited from my grandma Stone, and it always makes me happy when I have an opportunity to use it!

I don't think my grandma ever used the juicer herself, and I imagine if she saw me use it she would smile, roll her eyes at me and say "oh gad!" but that's exactly what makes me smile when I use it!

Anyway, juice your lemon any way you'd like, and add all the juice to your mixture!