Creamy Asparagus, Herb, and Pea Pasta

16 Reviews
ADD YOUR REVIEW
Photo: Christopher Testani; Styling: Paige Hicks
Yield
Serves 4 (serving size: about 1 1/2 cups)
By Tiffany Vickers Davis
April 2014
RECIPE BY Cooking Light

You can use bacon in place of pancetta for a smoky hit.

Ingredients

  • 2 thin pancetta slices (about 5/8 ounce)
  • 1 large garlic clove, thinly sliced
  • 2/3 cup unsalted chicken stock
  • 3 ounces 1/3-less-fat cream cheese (about 1/3 cup)
  • 3 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
  • 8 ounces uncooked pappardelle (wide ribbon pasta)
  • 1 1/2 cups (1-inch) asparagus pieces
  • 1/2 cup frozen green peas
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 1 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh chives

Nutritional Information

  • Calories 388
  • Fat 12.3g
  • Satfat 5.8g
  • Monofat 3g
  • Polyfat 1.3g
  • Protein 17g
  • Carbohydrate 53g
  • Fiber 7g
  • Cholesterol 61mg
  • Iron 7mg
  • Sodium 407mg
  • Calcium 118mg

How to Make It

Step 1

Place pancetta in a large skillet over medium heat; cook 6 minutes or until pancetta begins to crisp, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add stock; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 4 minutes. Add the cream cheese and mascarpone, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Strain sauce through a fine sieve over a large bowl. Discard solids.

Step 2

Cook pasta according to package directions; omitting salt and fat. Add asparagus and peas during last 2 minutes of cooking; cook 2 minutes. Drain. Add the pasta mixture, salt, and black pepper to sauce in bowl; toss well to combine. Sprinkle with parsley and chives.

Chef's Notes

MyRecipes is working with Let's Move!, the Partnership for a Healthier America, and USDA's MyPlate to give anyone looking for healthier options access to a trove of recipes that will help them create healthy, tasty plates. For more information about creating a healthy plate, visit www.choosemyplate.gov.

You May Like

Advertisement

Build-a-Meal

Find recipes with ingredients that you have on hand.

+ +

Read More

Advertisement

Ratings & Reviews

Ashlie028's Review

jwmassey
October 04, 2014
Good but not amazing. Added wine for some extra flavor.

Loribel1's Review

CathyKirchner
March 31, 2014
N/A

bearpaw's Review

daneanp
April 14, 2014
This recipe was easy to make and delivered a lot of flavor. I used bacon in place of the pancetta and fresh herbs are definitely worth keeping in the frig for dishes like this. My next job is to find a recipe to use up the rest of the mascarpone. Maybe a dessert?

jwmassey's Review

bearpaw
April 02, 2014
We enjoyed this recipe very much.. My husband asked me to definitely make it again. One thing I did not do was strain the sauce. I always add more garlic, too.

redenton's Review

Husker
March 21, 2014
This recipe was okay. I live in an area that is limited on the types of dry noodles you can get, no fresh noodles at all. So I substituted lasagne noodles and cut them down the middle after about five minutes of cooking. My wife is Chinese, so anything dealing with cheese is new to her. For most Chinese cheese is not eaten at all. She liked it, but found it to be a bit bland. She has a palate that demands some spiciness, so she introduced a dash of tabasco.

SchuylerV30's Review

SchuylerV30
April 10, 2014
This recipe was really good and pretty easy. Both my husband and seven year old son enjoyed it. I left out pancetta and made it with vegetable broth because I am a vegetarian. I just added a little extra pepper and salt. Will definitely make it again.

CathyKirchner's Review

aprylm01
March 27, 2014
Made this for a dinner party last night. Had both vegetarians and meat eaters at the table, so didn't use the pancetta or chicken stock. Used butter instead of pancetta, and white wine instead of stock. Used Rigatoni instead of Papardelle. Is delish! This one's also a good base to springboard from. Next time (and there will be a next time), I think I'll add some mushrooms and some shrimp as well. The mascarpone is a great additional to the sauce. I might try all cream cheese (maybe thinned down just a little) as well, just to cut the cost down. Brought some of the leftovers for lunch today. It's only 8:20 am where I am, but I'm tempted to eat lunch now!

SaschaW's Review

redenton
April 04, 2014
This is yummy. I reserved a little of the crispy pancetta to sprinkle on top at the end. I also forgot the marscapone so I used cream cheese and a little cream. Worked great. Even my kids ate it. My son asked me to put chicken breast in it next time.

aprylm01's Review

CoddShop
March 18, 2014
This recipe was pretty great. I've made many light cheese sauces and not a one was good, until now! The only changes I made was to add a little onion in with my garlic (i used extra garlic cause I LOVE it!) and I cooked my asparagus and peas in a pan with a little garlic, onion, and oil then salted at the end. I don't care for boiled veggies. The portion size was pretty huge and while I was happy with it being meatless I think my husband would prefer a little chicken to go with his.

APinder's Review

SaschaW
May 15, 2014
This was a nice, quick, and simple recipe. The fresh pasta is really needed to give it that nice texture and flavor- otherwise it would be a little bland. I have enjoyed it as leftovers- I like the idea of the crispy pancetta or something on top to give it a little more crunch. Given how quick it was to make, I would definitely make this again.