A simple, elegant heart attack on a plate.

[rivka]

Because it's asparagus season now for so much of the northern hemisphere:

Smoked Salmon-Asparagus Pasta (adapted from The Joy of Cooking)

1 bunch asparagus, woody ends trimmed off
4 oz peppered smoked salmon (not lox, but the thick meaty stuff)
8 oz heavy cream
3 Tablespoons butter
1/2 pound pasta (I use thin linguine)

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Drop the asparagus in and blanch it for a couple of minutes - two minutes if it's pencil thin, four minutes or so for thick, mature stalks. Then fish the asparagus out with a sieve and put the pasta into the water to boil.

Cut the salmon into bite-sized pieces.

Melt the butter in a skillet. Put the asparagus in and turn until coated with butter. Add the cream and the smoked salmon and warm over low heat until the pasta is done. Divide the asparagus evenly into two bowls of pasta and pour the smoked salmon cream over the top.

Serve with Lipitor (or the statin of your choice).


Also: final Respectful of Otters hit count for the day - 7712. Sheesh.

Comments

[papersky.livejournal.com]

People who don't like fishing asparagus out of boiling water can get the same effect by steaming it over the pasta while the pasta boils -- thin asparagus takes the same time to steam as pasta does to boil.

[hobbitbabe.livejournal.com]

Ooh, clever! This might be especially useful for use on our boat. At home, we have a cunning Paderno asparagus pot, in which the asparagus stands upright in a basket.