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Cooking Notes
Laurie
Rather than cooking the asparagus first, I add it to the pasta water for the last 2-3 minutes (depending on your asparagus) of pasta cooking time. Drain together in the same colander. Return to the pot with the reserved pasta water, and season.
sallyb
I make this a lot in the spring, usually with a half cup of petite peas to add sweetness.
Hermey
This is a keeper. Added white wine and chicken stock to pot, probably a quarter cup each, a third tablespoon of butter, and a full cup of the pasta water. Then reduced over low flame until it was just silky. Then the asparagus to reheat, then the fettuccini to toss. Fettuccini soaked up everything and was deliciously flapped.
Ron
I like the idea of adding some peas to add sweetness and lemon zest and/or red chili flakes to add zip to the rather bland sauce
Marjorie
I season and roast the asparagus in the oven at 424° with a light drizzle of oil. I take them out while they are still crisp and squeeze a little lemon juice on them. Then I toss them with the pasta and other ingredients I use less butter). I think that it has much more flavor.
M Krosse
use half the asparagus to make asparagus pesto (see Bittman's NYT recipe); mix it into the fettucine; then add the 1" asparagus pieces
Alexandra
I think the only reason to cook the asparagus first is so you then cook the pasta in that water, which is infused with a little asparagus flavor and perhaps some nutrients as well. If you can't tell the difference, your way is certainly easier!
Charles Hinton
I would suggest adding a bit of red onion to the asparagus and to sauté them in olive oil rather than boiling in water.
Jacqueline
I used a package of Trader Joe's Lemon Pepper Pappardelle instead of the fettucine, leaving the asparagus a little longer to hold up to the wider noodles. Wonderful!
Ellen
I've made this once and really liked it but used penne Because no fresh pasta. To save time, I throw the asparagus in during the last two minutes of pasta cooking and drain it all together. This way it all stays hot. Next time I might Saute some pancetta and mushrooms. Or add some grated lemon zest and capers. Very adaptable to what you have. A good basic recipe.
gjones
Cooked asparagus and pasta per recipe, but made a sauce of sautéed minced shallot and garlic and butter. Added white wine and cooked it down some then added frozen peas until warmed. When pasta was done added it to the sauce and grated Parmesan into it. The peas and asparagus paired well with the garlic and shallot.
Linda
I love this recipe. I like to sprinkle freshly grated lemon zest over the top before serving.
Annie
I like to add a bit of sweet red chopped onion to this ... bonus of added flavor. Delish!
Corlan Johnson
I’ve been making this for years...adding lemon juice, zest and toasted pine nuts.
beth
Lemon zest makes a tremendous difference!
imgwiz
very bland, I should have paid more attention to others' notes before cooking, I used 3 cups of asparagus, and still it was way too much pasta, ratio wise. Definitely add other flavors and seasonings. I won't make it again
Jeff B
Delicious. Had orecchiette pasta, threw asparagus into salted pasta water with 90 seconds to go. Hit with parm and butter, tossed with some parsley... perfection. So simple.
cheryl
Loved this pasta dish especially with fresh pasta. I added lemon zest as another commenter suggested. Delightful on Easter.
Jill
6 spears of asparagus is not 1/2 pound - glad I just purchased the asparagus before checking the recipe. Also, this really needs more sauce. It was good, just a little too dry.
Sam
Added sautéed mushrooms. Absolutely delightful!
Rrose Selavy
Absolutely simple and delicious. I added some fresh favas to the asparagus to good effect and considered lemon, which I ultimately did not use but wish I had. Just the hint of nutmeg was delightful. Had no fettuccine so I used bucatini. Sauce not quite as creamy as I’d like, a bit more pasta water next time should do the trick. I used about 1/4 cup. It may depend on the pasta shape.
Rrose Selavy
Oh, and a shallot is always welcome, right? Add to the butter as it heats up.
Drake Baer
One of the best recipes here. Using about a quarter of a nutmeg, roughly double the quantity called for in the recipe, took this over the top. Otherwise, I followed this exactly and was astonished by its deliciousness.
Craig
Added miso to the butter because I was short parm. Added 2 pinches red paper flakes, a clove of garlic, and frozen peas as well. Make sure you keep lots of the pasta water because it needs it when it comes together to get a nice glossy sauce.
MDinNC
I used some grilled asparagus that I had leftover from the day before. The bit of smoky char really added to the flavor. I'm thinking that next time I may toss in some shrimp and lemon zest to this versatile recipe. This definitely going into heavy rotation this Spring!
Steph
I cooked some shrimp in butter, parsley and garlic and then added the asparagus and pasta. Came out great. My 6 year loved it! Definitely a repeat. So easy.
A good home cook in California
Delicious as is but I do think you need to add additional pasta water or else it’s a little dry. This recipe is so easy and I make it on repeat in the Spring when I can but asparagus at my local farmers market.
Erin H
A good base recipe but not 5 star as written. We found it needed more flavor. It’s nice that there was an amount stated for the asparagus because 6 pieces of asparagus is not 1,5 cups unless your asparagus is baseball bat thick.
Richard X
I disagree; this is definitely 5 stars. The flavor comes from asparagus, butter and cheese. Using the best quality of each will produce stellar results.
Robin
Bland and dry. If I made again, I would use more butter, more pasta water and add some grated Parmesan cheese to the pasta itself. More asparagus might help, and as others suggested peas could be good as well as perhaps some red pepper flakes to give it a little zip.
Nina
Overall it's an easy to make recipe. I forgot to keep the 2 tablespoons of pasta water and just added tap water. I also found that regular pepper and salt didn't make the pasta flavorful enough. I have lemon pepper on hand and used that. For a more complete meal, I might added another veggie to this or if you eat meat, perhaps chicken or salmon.Not sure why the pasta stuck to the bottom of the pan.
Richard X
The pasta stuck to the bottom of the pan because you didn't stir it immediately after adding to the boiling water. Continue to stir as necessary to prevent sticking. Pasta water contains starch, which tap water does not. The starch is essential to a lovely sauce. Consider another vegetable, chicken or salmon as an accompanying dish. Fettucine and asparagus is stellar in its simplicity... if you use top quality ingredients.
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