THIS WEEK I HAD THE PLEASURE of enjoying two recipes that utilized fresh asparagus harvested from the Norconk family farm off M-22 south of Empire.
I like their old-fashioned spring-loaded scale to measure the weight of the spears. It reminded me of my dad’s scale he had in his pediatric office for weighing newborn babies. The Norconk scale is calibrated in ounces and pounds, not in grams. Thank goodness!
After the dial touches the line for 1 pound of asparagus, I often add one more spear for good luck - a behavior I got from my mother. I can add it gently such that the dial doesn’t even advance. I figure this rewards me as a returning customer.
The two recipes included a wild leek (ramps), asparagus, and potato soup that I seasoned with tarragon. Then, this Friday night I made a lemon, shrimp, and asparagus pasta that was simply to live for.
As you know, I work at keeping my essays under two minutes in length. To keep to my pledge, I offer only the shrimp-asparagus recipe below.
Bob’s Spring Asparagus-Shrimp Delight
Ingredients
6 large-count, tail-on frozen wild-caught shrimp.
6 asparagus where I discard the lower 1/3 and cut the spears into 1-inch pieces.
A small handful of angel hair pasta.
½ Butter and 1/2 EVOO.
1 fresh lemon and some zest.
1/3 cup white wine.
1 large clove of garlic smushed.
2 TBS Parmesan cheese (grated).
Salt and ground pepper.
Chopped handful of fresh parsley.
2 TBS Half & Half (optional)
Red pepper flakes (optional)
Directions
2-quart boiling pot of salted water:
Boil shrimp until just pink. Rinse with cold water and remove the tails.
Add pasta to the same shrimp water and cook El dente. Drain and set aside.
In skillet pan:
Add butter and oil and bring to a shimmer.
Add garlic until aromatic.
Add cut-up asparagus sauté for three minutes.
Add white wine and reduce by ½.
Add cooked shrimp.
Add cooked pasta.
Add lemon and zest.
Add chopped parsley.
Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese.
Add Half and Half.
S & P.
Adjust the thickness of the sauce with the pasta and shrimp water if needed.
If you are interested, I will send you the Potato-Leek Soup recipe.
If it came with a chef, I would definitely try it. Sounds delicious!