Description
This Spring Orecchiette Pasta with asparagus, fresh peas, mushrooms and herbs is tossed in a very light carbonara sauce, topped with pillowy burrata cheese.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 16 oz Orecchiette pasta
- 4 quarts of water (16 cups)
- 2 tablespoons Salt
- 2 cups peas (Trader Joes often carries fresh shucked peas) or use frozen peas
- 2 cups snow peas or sugar peas
- 1 cup asparagus tips (optional)
- ——-
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion- diced
- 4 garlic cloves, rough chopped
- 8–12 oz mushrooms sliced or quartered -cremini, shiitake, buttons or morels
- 2 cups wilting greens- dandelion, arugula, chard, spinach – chopped
- generous pinch salt
- cracked pepper
- 2 Eggs, whisked
- 1/2 cup parmesan or pecorino
- 1 ball burrata cheese- optional
- lemon zest from one small lemon
- 1/4–1/2 cup fresh chopped herbs- mint, basil, dill, or Italian Parsley or a blend.
Instructions
- Cook the Pasta: Bring a large pot with 4 quarts water and 2 tablespoons salt to a boil. When water comes to a boil, add pasta and cook to al dente, about 7 minutes ( or see directions on package). During the last minute of cooking the pasta, add the fresh peas, sugar peas and asparagus tips to the boiling pasta, turn the heat up to high and quickly blanch for one minute. Drain the pasta and veggies (reserving 1-2 cups hot pasta water). Do not rinse. Return to the pot, turn heat off.
- While the pasta is cooking, saute the mushrooms: In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Sauté the onion until tender and fragrant, 3-4 minutes. Add the mushrooms and garlic, and saute until golden and tender 7-8 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Add greens and sauté, stirring often until just wilted. Set pan aside.
- Whisk two eggs in a small bowl, set aside.
- Temper the Eggs. Once the pasta is drained and back in the pot, gradually whisk in 3 tablespoons of the reserved hot pasta water, one tablespoon at a time into the eggs, to temper the eggs (to warm them up gently- so they don’t curdle). Stir well.
- COMBINE: Pour tempered eggs over the pasta and with a big wood spoon, gently stir to coat the pasta. Stir in the mushrooms, half of the lemon zest and half of the fresh the herbs, cracked pepper and parmesan, adding more hot pasta water as needed to loosen the pasta, and make it a “saucy”. You don’t want this dry. I usually add a cup or more.
- Taste and adjust salt and pepper to your liking.
- Place on a platter or bowl and sprinkle with remaining herbs, lemon zest. Dot with dollops of burrata cheese.
- Serve immediately!
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 357
- Sugar: 6.3 g
- Sodium: 537.2 mg
- Fat: 7.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 54.6 g
- Fiber: 6.1 g
- Protein: 17.1 g
- Cholesterol: 56.2 mg