Saturday, April 30, 2011

Penne With Roasted Asparagus and Balsamic Butter

Asparagus? Check
Penne noodles? Check
Balsamic Vinegar? Check
Butter? Of course!

These are the main ingredients to this wonderful and very simple pasta dish. I thoroughly enjoyed this dish for the simple fact that it was meatless. What's that you say? You didn't think I liked dishes without meat?? Yes, yes it's true. Sometimes I feel like I need to go a day without eating meat. I consume a lot of it, so a day here and there without any meat is just fine by me.  My carnivore husband would not agree, in fact he even suggested next time I make this to add chicken. Not gonna happen though, I love this dish just the way it is. I do like to be healthy whenever I can be, though from my list of recipes you would never know that. :)

Penne With Roaster Asparagus and Balsamic Butter

1 pound fresh asparagus spears
1 tbsp. olive oil
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. light or dark brown sugar
1 pound Penne pasta
4 Tbsp. butter, cut into pieces
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
               
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Snap the tough ends off the asparagus and discard them. Cut the asparagus spears into 1-inch pieces. Put the asparagus on a rimmed baking sheet and toss with the oil and ¼ teaspoon of the salt and ¼ of the pepper. Roast until tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
While the asparagus roasts, put the vinegar in a small saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until the vinegar is reduced to about 3 tablespoons, about 5-10 minutes. Stir in the brown sugar and the remaining ¼ teaspoon pepper. Remove from the heat.
Cook the penne in a large pot of boiling salted water until just done, 11-13 minutes. Drain the pasta and return to the pot. Stir in the butter and vinegar mixture. Toss to combine well. Add in the asparagus, Parmesan, and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Serve immediately with additional Parmesan cheese for serving.

4 comments:

Ranie said...

Mmm! We definately made this for our 7 course dinner the other night. It was fabulous! All the left overs are gone... so that means I'll have to make it again! Oh and do you have the recipe for your dad's shrimp pot thing? That just sounds dang amazing!

Hollie said...

I don't! I should have had him write it down for me. I will have him email it to me, then I will email it to you! :)

Kurt and Kristy said...

Yum! I like meatless meals once in awhile too! This looks so easy and yummy! I think I'll make it this week!

Dani said...

I should have never clicked over to your blog. I've been here about 3 minutes and there are 5 dishes I'm already wanting to make... :)