Starch | Saveur

Baked Macaroni with Goat Cheese, Spinach, and Tomatoes

SAVEUR Editors — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:50:12 +0000

Photography by Linda Xiao; Food Styling by Jessie YuChen

This baked macaroni and cheese recipe with fresh chèvre, spinach, and tomatoes starts on the stovetop and finishes in the oven. The creamy sauce stays gooey and velvety, while the cheese sprinkled on top turns crisp and golden-brown. Elbow macaroni is an optimal vessel for the sauce, but any hollow pasta shape will work.

Yield: 4

Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Kosher salt
8 oz. elbow macaroni
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
¼ cup all-purpose flour
3 cups whole milk
2 cups baby spinach
1¾ cups fresh goat cheese, divided
Freshly ground black pepper
4 medium plum tomatoes, thinly sliced

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened but still firm, about 3 minutes. Drain the macaroni and set aside.
Return the pot to medium heat, add the butter, and when it has nearly melted, whisk in the flour to make a smooth paste. Add the milk and cook, whisking frequently, until the sauce has thickened and coats the back of a spoon, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the spinach and 1½ cups of goat cheese. Season the sauce to taste with salt and black pepper, then stir in the reserved macaroni. Transfer to an 8-by-8-inch baking dish, layer the tomato slices evenly over the surface, then sprinkle over the remaining goat cheese.
Place a baking sheet in the oven and set the baking dish on top. Bake until the pasta is golden-brown and bubbly, about 45 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes and serve hot.

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Moussaka (Greek Eggplant Casserole)

Aglaia Kremezi — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:29:15 +0000

Photography by Linda Xiao; Food Styling by Jessie YuChen

A good moussaka is “one of the most fabulous things you can eat,” according to Aglaia Kremezi, author of Mediterranean Hot and Spicy. Her recipe for the Greek eggplant casserole, inherited from her mother, is a labor of love requiring sautéing, frying, boiling, and baking—but it’s well worth the trouble. The components (meat sauce, béchamel, and fried eggplant and potatoes) can be prepared the day before assembling.

Yield: 8-10

Time: 4 hours 40 minutes

2 cups plus 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
6 bay leaves
2 cinnamon sticks
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
2 lb. ground beef
¼ cup tomato paste
1½ tsp. ground cinnamon, divided, plus more for dusting
½ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg, divided
¼ tsp. ground cloves
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. sugar
One 28-oz. can whole peeled tomatoes in juice, crushed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups whole milk
4 large eggs
3 large eggplants, sliced into ¼-in.-thick rounds
5 medium russet potatoes, peeled and sliced into ¼-in.-thick rounds
1 cup coarsely grated graviera cheese, or Gruyère
Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

To a large pot set over medium-high heat, add 3 tablespoons of the oil, the bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, and onion and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, 5–7 minutes. Add the beef and cook until browned and all the liquid has evaporated, about 30 minutes.
Add the tomato paste, 1¼ teaspoons of the ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon of the nutmeg, and the cloves and cook until beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in the vinegar, sugar, tomatoes, and 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to medium-low, partially cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until nearly all the liquid has evaporated, about 1½ hours. Remove from the heat, then discard the cinnamon sticks and bay leaves. Season generously with salt and black pepper and set aside.
Meanwhile, make the béchamel: In a medium bowl, beat the eggs. Melt the butter in a medium pot set over medium-high heat. Whisk in the flour and cook until light golden, about 2 minutes. Whisk in 1½ teaspoons of salt, the milk, and the remaining cinnamon and nutmeg. Cook, whisking frequently, until thick, about 10 minutes. Ladle about 1 cup of the béchamel into the egg, then whisk to combine. Pour the egg mixture back into the pot, then whisk until smooth. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. To a large skillet set over medium-high heat, add the remaining oil. Lightly dust the eggplant slices with cinnamon slices. When the oil is hot and shimmering, working in batches, fry the eggplant (turning once) until soft and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, then add the potatoes and cook until barely tender, 8–10 minutes. Drain and transfer to an ice bath. When cool, drain and set aside.
On the bottom of a 10-by-14-inch baking dish, spread 1 cup of the béchamel. Sprinkle with ⅓ cup of the graviera. Spread the potatoes evenly over the cheese, then cover evenly with the eggplant. Pour the meat sauce over the top, then spread with the remaining béchamel. Top with the remaining graviera. Bake until bubbling and golden brown, about 1 hour.

Around the World in 26 Eggplant Recipes

Photography by Matt Taylor-Gross

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Strawberry Risotto

SAVEUR Editors — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:43:25 +0000

Photography by Murray Hall; Food Styling by Jessie YuChen

This unusual, pastel-pink strawberry risotto recipe is a great way to use up those out-of-season (or past-their-prime) berries kicking around your fruit drawer. The dish was a popular menu item at Italian restaurants in the 80s—and we’re all for its comeback.

Featured in “Can This Berry Be Saved?” by Warren Schultz.

Yield: 4

Time: 35 minutes

3 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 cup strawberries, washed and hulled
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 cup arborio rice
¼ cup dry white wine
¾ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

In a small pot, bring the stock to a boil, then add the berries and boil for 30 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a food processor or blender and purée; set aside. Turn off the heat.
To a large pot set over medium-low heat, add the butter. When it’s melted, add the rice and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly toasted, about 2 minutes. Add the wine and cook until absorbed, about 4 minutes. Add ½ cup of the reserved stock and cook until absorbed, then continue with the remaining stock. (The total cook time should be about 25 minutes.)
Remove from the heat and stir in the purée and Parmigiano, then season with salt and black pepper to taste and serve immediately.

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Yogurt and Chips

Ellen Fort — Fri, 23 Jun 2023 16:19:53 +0000

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MURRAY HALL; FOOD STYLING BY JESSIE YUCHEN

It’s always Snacky Hour somewhere, at least according to snack-obsessed SAVEUR senior editor Ellen Fort. Follow along as she discovers the best bites that fall outside the confines of breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Savory, salty, spicy, sweet, sour: everything’s fair game during Snacky Hour.

Salty, crunchy potato chips are absolutely drenched with yogurt in this Iranian snack that couldn’t be easier to make. Homa Dashtaki, author of Yogurt and Whey: Recipes of an Iranian Immigrant Life and founder of Brooklyn-based yogurt company White Moustache, calls it “indecently delicious,” suggesting that it’s equally at home served as an appetizer at a dinner party as it is consumed in front of the TV. Dashtaki recommends opting for a plain, unstrained yogurt rather than a thick Greek-style yogurt—to ensure maximum coating on the chips. For this recipe, I took inspiration from Dashtaki’s recipe for shankleesh labneh, and added in za’atar, salt, and Aleppo pepper for a little spice. I like to add a splash of good olive oil and another sprinkle of Aleppo at the end for good measure.—Ellen Fort

Yield: 4

Time: 5 minutes

4 cups plain yogurt
1 8-oz. bag potato chips
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 ½ tsp. Aleppo pepper powder, plus more to taste
1 tsp. za'atar
Extra virgin olive oil, to taste

Instructions

In a medium bowl, stir together the yogurt and Aleppo pepper powder, then stir in the salt and za’atar.
To medium bowl, add the chips. Pour the seasoned yogurt over the chips to completely coat them. Drizzle with olive oil and Aleppo pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

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Dilly Salmon Pasta Salad with Pickles and Caraway Breadcrumbs

Benjamin Kemper — Wed, 07 Jun 2023 13:56:37 +0000

Photography by Murray Hall; Food Styling by Jessie YuChen

Welcome to One Pot Bangers, Benjamin Kemper’s weeknight cooking column, where you’ll find our freshest, boldest ideas that require just one pot, skillet, or sheet pan. Busy week? We’ve got you covered with these low-effort, high-reward recipes from around the globe.

Deli-case pasta salad—you know the type, gobbed with sugary mayo and flecked with bargain-bin tuna—can be grim, frightening stuff. With cookout and picnic season upon us, I wondered how I might freshen up the American side to give it a more intriguing flavor profile. The goal was to give the dish what a zoomer might call “main character energy”: pasta salad as the meal, not a sorry accessory to it.

I settled on using fresh salmon instead of tuna—a generous amount, flaked into big, juicy chunks. Then, drawing inspo from my Ashkenazi forebears, I added a few tugs of fresh dill, a glob of horseradish, and a handful of chopped pickles (plus a splash of their brine to loosen everything up). A sprinkling of caraway-scented breadcrumbs on top, and I had a recipe I could get behind. I’ve been making this salmon pasta salad on repeat for picnics, barbecues, and (since all the action happens in one pot) casual weeknight meals.

Feel free to use frozen or canned salmon in place of fresh. Poaching is the easiest way to cook the fish: Simply place the salmon in an 8-by-8-inch microwaveable pan, add ¼ cup of water, then cover and cook on high until opaque, about 8 minutes for center-cut fillets (9–12 minutes for frozen). For a more elegant presentation, transfer the drained pasta to a serving bowl in step 2.

Yield: 4–6

Time: 30 minutes

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
¾ cup panko bread crumbs, or homemade bread crumbs
1 tsp. ground caraway seeds
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lb. conchiglie (shell) or orecchiette pasta
¾ cup coarsely chopped dill or bread-and-butter pickles, plus 1 Tbsp. brine
3 Tbsp. finely chopped parsley leaves
2 Tbsp. finely chopped dill fronds, plus more whole fronds for garnish
2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp. bottled horseradish
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
Pinch cayenne pepper
½ small red onion, very finely chopped
2½ cups flaked cold cooked salmon (see headnote)
½ cup crème fraîche, or sour cream
½ cup mayonnaise, plus more to taste

Instructions

In a large pot set over medium-low heat, melt the butter, then add the panko and caraway and cook, stirring occasionally, until deep golden, 4–6 minutes. Scrape into a bowl and set aside.
Rinse the pot, then fill it with generously salted water and bring to a boil. Add the pasta and boil, stirring occasionally, until fully cooked (just past al dente) according to the instructions on the package. Strain and rinse under cold water until cool. Return the pasta to the pot.
Stir in the pickles, brine, parsley, dill, lemon zest, lemon juice, horseradish, mustard, cayenne, and onion and set aside to marinate for 5 minutes. Stir in the salmon, crème fraîche, mayonnaise, and three quarters of the reserved bread crumbs. Season with salt and black pepper to taste (it should be very well seasoned) and more mayonnaise if desired.
Garnish with the remaining bread crumbs and dill fronds. Serve immediately (at room temperature), or cover and chill until ready to serve. (Tightly covered, the salmon pasta salad will keep for 2 days in the fridge; if it looks dry, stir in a couple tablespoons of water.)

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Vichyssoise

Louis Diat — Thu, 15 Dec 2005 10:00:00 +0000

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BELLE MORIZIO; FOOD STYLING BY CHRISTINE ALBANO; PROP STYLING BY CARLA GONZALEZ-HART

Credited with the invention of this famous chilled potato leek soup, Chef Louis Diat of New York City’s original Ritz-Carlton Hotel once prepared eight portions of the dish to be delivered to the Manhattan townhouse of Sara Delano Roosevelt, Franklin D.’s mother—and enclosed this vichyssoise recipe. The best potatoes to use for something like vichyssoise are low-starch varieties, such as Yukon Golds, which will retain their creamy flavor and velvety texture even after a long cooking and double-straining process.

Yield: 8

Time: 3 hours 40 minutes

4 Tbsp. (2 oz.) unsalted butter
4 leeks, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
5 medium potatoes (about 2¼ lbs.), peeled and thinly sliced
Kosher salt
2 cups whole milk
2 cups light cream
1 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp. finely chopped chives

Instructions

In a large pot over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Add the leeks and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft but not browned, about 20 minutes. Add the potatoes, 4 cups water, and salt to taste, and turn up the heat to high to bring it to a boil. Turn down the heat to medium-low, and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are soft, 50–60 minutes.
Set a fine sieve over a medium bowl and strain the soup, pressing and scraping the solids with a spoon. Wipe the pot clean and return the strained soup to it. Whisk in the milk and light cream, bring the soup to a boil over high heat, then remove from heat and let cool.
Set the sieve over a medium bowl and strain the soup again, pressing and scraping with the spoon. Discard any solids that remain in the sieve. Stir the heavy cream into soup, then cover and refrigerate until chilled, for at least 2 and up to 24 hours. Season soup with salt to taste just before serving.
To serve, divide the vichyssoise among soup bowls and garnish with chives.

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Laabify Your Life

Pailin Chongchitnant — Mon, 01 May 2023 03:32:44 +0000

Photography by Belle Morizio

This recipe is brought to you by the SAVEUR Cookbook Club, our passionate community of food-loving readers from around the globe celebrating our favorite authors and recipes. Join us as we cook through cookbooks new and old, and share your food pics and vids on social media with the hashtags #SAVEURCookbookClub and #EatTheWorld.

Cookbook author and host of the YouTube channel Pailin’s Kitchen, Pailin Chongchitnant believes that you can laabify anything—from last night’s pork roast to slivers of this morning’s omelette to a cup or two of vegetables, saved from the crisper drawer. Tart, spicy, and fresh, Chongchitnant’s “leftover anything” laab recipe is also guaranteed to “fix” lackluster proteins like dry Thanksgiving turkey, the overcooked ends of roast beef, and under seasoned baked or fried tofu.

Laab is usually served with Thai-style sticky rice, which you can learn how to make here, or you can swap it out for steamed jasmine rice. If you’re taking it easy on carbs, you can leave the rice out entirely and instead wrap up scoops of laab in soft lettuce leaves. Roasting whole dried chiles before grinding them to flakes or powder is a popular technique in Thai cooking. Make your own or look for roasted chile flakes at your local Southeast Asian grocery store.

This recipe is adapted from Pailin Chongchitnant’s cookbook Sabai: 100 Simple Thai Recipes for Any Day of the Week.

Yield: 4

Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

For the laab:

1 Tbsp. uncooked jasmine or Thai sticky rice
5 oz. leftover cooked meat and/or vegetables
1 Tbsp. fish sauce
1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
Pinch sugar
Roasted chile flakes (store-bought or homemade)
3 Tbsp. thinly sliced shallots
Handful fresh mint, Thai basil, cilantro, and other fresh herbs

For serving:

English cucumber, sliced
Sticky rice or jasmine rice
Romaine or butter lettuce

Instructions

To a small dry skillet over medium-high heat, add the rice and cook, stirring continuously, until the rice is evenly dark brown. (Don’t walk away from the stove; the rice may start to smoke, so make sure the kitchen is well ventilated.) Transfer the toasted rice to a plate to cool, then transfer to a mortar and pestle or coffee grinder and pulverize to a medium-fine powder with a few larger pieces for texture. Set aside.
Thinly slice, chop, or shred your leftovers into small pieces. Decide how best to process depending on the ingredient: Poultry and braised pork is best shredded; beef, pork chops and tenderloin, and egg is best thinly sliced; most vegetables are best coarsely chopped. If cold, heat the leftovers slightly so they are just barely warm or at room temperature (you can do this in the microwave or give them a quick sauté in a skillet.)
In a medium bowl, stir together the fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, chile flakes, and shallots, until the sugar is nearly dissolved. Add the leftovers, reserved toasted rice powder, and the fresh herbs and toss to coat in the dressing. Taste and adjust the seasoning to taste with more fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, and chile flakes. Serve the laab warm or at room temperature with sliced cucumber, rice, and lettuce leaves on the side.

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Fany Gerson’s Horchata Paletas

Fany Gerson — Sat, 29 Apr 2023 04:47:13 +0000

Photography by Belle Morizio; Food Styling By Jessie YuChen; Prop Styling By Kim Gray

New York City chef Fany Gerson and her husband and business partner Daniel Ortiz de Montellano served these creamy horchata paletas at El Barrio, an outdoor celebration of Latinx food and culture at the 2023 Charleston Wine and Food Festival. Gerson sells these and other Mexican-style ice pops at Brooklyn’s La Newyorkina, and also at Mijo, the pair’s newest collaboration in Manhattan’s Pier 57 marketplace.

Toasting the rice, almonds, and cinnamon before steeping them in the horchata base results in an exceptionally deep and nutty flavor, so don’t be tempted to skip this important step. For even creamier paletas, swap out 2 cups of the half & half for heavy cream; for a vegan version, feel free to replace the dairy entirely with any non-sweetened nut, oat, or soy milk.

Yield: 8–10

Time: 8 hours 30 minutes

¾ cup long-grain white rice
¾ cup raw almonds
One 3-in. cinnamon stick
6 cup half & half
¼ cup sugar, plus more
½ tsp. vanilla extract
Pinch kosher salt

Instructions

To a medium pot over medium heat, add the rice, almonds, and cinnamon stick and cook, stirring frequently, until the rice and almonds are slightly toasted and the cinnamon is very fragrant, 3–6 minutes . Stir in the half-and-half and ¼ cup sugar, bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat, cover, and set aside to cool to room temperature. Transfer to the fridge to steep for at least 3 and up to 24 hours.
In a blender, working in batches, puree the rice-almond-half & half mixture until the rice and nuts are completely pulverized. Line a fine-mesh strainer with cheesecloth, then set over a large bowl. Strain the horchata base into the bowl, pressing down on the solids with a spatula or the back of a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible; discard any solids that remain in the strainer. Working in batches, blend the strained liquid once more; strain into the bowl again, discarding any solids. Stir in the vanilla and salt, and season to taste with more sugar.
Pour the base evenly into a popsicle mold, leaving a little bit of room at the top as the paletas expand as they freeze. Transfer to the freezer until the paletas are slushy, about 1 hour, then insert a popsicle stick in the center of each. Continue freezing until firm, at least 4 hours.
To unmold, dip the paleta mold into a container of warm water. Serve the horchata paletas immediately or place on a clean sheet pan and store in the freezer for up to 1 month. (If storing longer than 24 hours, wrap tightly in plastic wrap.)

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Old-School Pad Gaprao

Pailin Chongchitnant — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 22:10:11 +0000

Excerpted from Sabai by Pailin Chongchitnant. Copyright © 2023 Pailin Chongchitnant. Photographs by Janis Nicolay. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.

This recipe is brought to you by SAVEUR Cookbook Club, our passionate community of food-loving readers from around the globe celebrating our favorite authors and recipes. Join us as we cook through cookbooks new and old, and share your food pics and vids on social media with the hashtags #SAVEURCookbookClub and #EatTheWorld.

Pad gaprao (often misspelled as “pad kra pao”) is a true staple of the Thai diet, sold by street vendors and at fancy restaurants, and made in homes all over the country. Cookbook author Pailin Chongchitnant calls this version adapted from her cookbook Sabai: 100 Simple Thai Recipes for Any Day of the Week—“old school” because it’s so simple, seasoned only with fish sauce and basil. Newer takes on the classic dish include add-ins like soy sauce, oyster sauce, and veggies, but Chongchitnant’s original pad gaprao recipe is easier to prepare—and preserves a little Thai culinary history in the process. If you can’t find holy basil, don’t be tempted to swap in Thai basil—Italian basil is in fact a closer substitute.

Pad gaprao is typically paired with a fried egg when served as a one-dish meal. If serving as part of a multi-dish Thai meal, you can omit the egg. For an old-school pad gaprao experience, make this dish as spicy as you can handle—it’s not just about the heat, as chiles also provide flavor that’s important to the dish. Chongchitnant uses a mixture of mild and hot chiles; the mild ones add the necessary chile flavor without overpowering the dish with spice. Red bell pepper will work, but she suggests you try to find something smaller and less watery (we like Jimmy Nardellos). The bird’s eye chile seeds can be removed to moderate the heat further.

Yield: 4

Time: 15 minutes

2–3 bird’s eye chiles
⅓ cup coarsely chopped mild red peppers
7 garlic cloves
3 Tbsp. vegetable oil, plus more for frying
4 large eggs
1 lb. lean ground pork
2 Tbsp. fish sauce, plus more
2 tsp. sugar, plus more
1½ cups holy basil or Italian basil leaves
4 cups steamed jasmine rice, for serving

Instructions

Using a mortar and pestle, pound the bird’s eye chiles to a fine paste. Add the mild red peppers and garlic and continue pounding to a coarse paste, then set aside.
Line a large plate with paper towels and set it by the stove. To a small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, add oil to a depth of ⅓ inch. Once the oil is hot, carefully crack in one egg and cook, using a spoon to occasionally baste the top of the egg with the hot oil, until the whites are crispy and browned and the yolks are cooked to the desired doneness, about 1 minute for a runny yolk, or 2 minutes for a set yolk. Using a heat-proof spatula, transfer the egg to the lined plate; keep warm while you repeat with the remaining eggs.
To a wok set over medium heat, add 3 tablespoons oil and the reserved chile-garlic paste. Stir-fry until the garlic is just beginning to turn golden, about 2 minutes. Turn the heat up to high, add the ground pork, and, using a heat-proof spatula, quickly toss to mix with the chile-garlic paste. Add the fish sauce and sugar, and continue stir-frying until the pork is fully cooked, about 4 minutes. Turn off the heat, then add the basil and stir just until the leaves have wilted. Season to taste with more fish sauce and sugar as needed.
Divide the rice among 4 plates. Top each serving with the pad gaprao followed by a fried egg and serve hot

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Creamy Asparagus Pasta with Mushrooms, Lemon, and Pecorino

Benjamin Kemper — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 19:12:23 +0000

Photography by Belle Morizio; Food Styling By Jessie YuChen; Prop Styling By Kim Gray; Linens by Solino Home

Too much asparagus might be the definition of a fancy problem, but there I was, looking down at three hefty bunches I impulse-bought on sale. My usual move when faced with a surfeit of veg is to blitz it into a puréed soup, but then I wondered—could asparagus be transformed into a silky, pastel-green sauce for pasta?

The answer, I discovered through trial and error, is a resounding “yes,” especially when you blend peas into the sauce and keep it nice and green by adding a handful of fresh arugula (asparagus, I remembered while testing, isn’t the prettiest shade when cooked).

Morels, shallots, lemon zest, Pecorino—these are the add-ins I wound up loving the most, since they play well together and all but scream spring. Enjoy this asparagus pasta recipe hot—and then (if you’re like me), enjoy it even more the next day straight from the fridge, with an extra squeeze of lemon juice and a generous drizzle of olive oil.

Yield: 4–6

Time: 50 minutes

1½ lb. asparagus (see footnote), bottom inch removed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish
8 oz. mushrooms, such as morels, chanterelles, or shiitakes, cleaned, trimmed, and sliced ¼-in. thick (3 cups)
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
⅔ cup finely chopped shallots
2 cups packed arugula leaves
1 cup peas, fresh or frozen
1 lb. farfalle (bowtie) pasta
1 cup packed finely grated Pecorino Romano, plus more for garnish
2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
¼ cup fresh lemon juice

Instructions

Peel the bottom half of the asparagus stalks down to the white flesh. Remove and reserve the tips, then coarsely chop the stalks.
To a large pot set over medium-high heat, add the oil. When it’s shimmering and hot, add the mushrooms and asparagus tips and season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and browned, about 7 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter, stir until melted, then scrape into a bowl and set aside.
To the empty pot, add 2 tablespoons of the butter, the shallots, and asparagus stalks and turn the heat to medium. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the stalks are al dente, about 8 minutes. Add 4½ cups of water and bring to a boil. Add the arugula and peas and boil for 1 minute more. Using an immersion (or regular) blender, process until it’s as smooth as possible. Add salt to taste (it should be assertively seasoned).
Add the farfalle, turn the heat to medium, and cover. Boil, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot every 2 minutes on the dot to prevent sticking, until the pasta is nearly al dente, about 9 minutes.
Uncover, turn the heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring every 15 seconds, until the sauce has thickened and the pasta is al dente, 3–5 minutes more. Add the Pecorino, lemon zest and juice, remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, and half of the mushroom- asparagus mixture and cook for 1 minute more. Season with black pepper to taste.
To serve, divide the pasta among 4–6 bowls. Garnish each with the remaining asparagus-mushroom mixture, then drizzle with oil and sprinkle with Pecorino.

Note: Seek out asparagus that are ½ inch thick (thinner asparagus can be stringy, and thicker can be woody). Peeling the stalks in step 1 is essential as fibrous bottoms make for a far less creamy sauce.

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