A comforting dish from ” As the Romans Do” by Eleonora Galasso. It is also very good cold if there are any leftovers.
Ingredients
- 500 g asparagus or wild asparagus
- 30 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 1 leek trimmed, cleaned and finely sliced
- 100 g unsalted butter plus extra for greasing
- 500 ml milk
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 100 g plain flour
- 400 g fusilli or penne pasta
- 150 g provola , fontina or medium cheddar cheese
- 150 g pancetta or smoked bacon cubes
- 50 g breadcrumbs
- salt
Servings:
Instructions
- Prepare the asparagus by breaking off and discarding the woody ends, cutting off and reserving the tips and slicing the stalks into 1cm chunks. Add the asparagus tips to a small saucepan of boiling salted water and blanch for 3 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Bring a second saucepan of salted water to a boil, lower to a gentle simmer and keep to one side. Heat the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan, add the leek and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes until browned.
- Add the asparagus stalks, season with salt and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding a ladleful of hot water every 5 minutes to prevent everything sticking to the bottom of the pan, until the asparagus stalks are soft and cooked through.
- Tip the asparagus and leek mixture into a food processor and blend together well. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Grease a 35cm x 20cm oven dish with a little butter.
- Gently heat the milk in a small saucepan, ensuring it doesn’t boil. In a separate saucepan, melt the butter, add the nutmeg and flour and stir together to make a smooth paste (roux).
- Season with salt and slowly add the warm milk, stirring constantly, to form a smooth, creamy sauce. Bring to a gentle boil, then remove from the heat and set aside.
- Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook for half of the cooking time indicated on the packet, or about 3-7 minutes.
- Drain and place in a bowl along with the sauce, two-thirds of the provola and half of the blended asparagus. Mix everything together well and pour into the prepared oven dish.
- Scatter over the asparagus tips and pancetta cubes, pour over the remaining asparagus mixture and sprinkle with the remaining provola. Transfer to the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the surface has formed a nice golden crust.
- Sprinkle over the breadcrumbs and cut into rectangles. Serve hot or cold.
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