Creamy Linguine with Pan-charred Asparagus

A quick and creamy linguine that showcases delicious asparagus contrasted with cream and crunchy almonds

Serves 2-4

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 cup of toasted almonds, unsalted and sliced

1 pound of thin asparagus, washed, ends trimmed and cut into 3-4” pieces

1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed for at least 10 minutes

Salt, to taste

1 pound of linguine

1 can of full-fat unsweetened coconut milk

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

Fresh black pepper, to taste

Fresh Basil, as needed

Fresh lemon juice, as needed

Directions
* Heat the olive oil in a wide skillet. A cast iron is best as we want to chat the asparagus in the skillet.

*Fry the garlic and red pepper flakes on medium heat. Let them sizzle for 30 seconds.

* Toss in the almonds and toast for 2 minutes

* Meanwhile, boil a pot of water & add the asparagus and cook 2 minutes, until tender crisp.

*Remove the asparagus using a slotted spoon or a pair of tongs and add them to the skillet.

*Reduce the heat of the boiling water to minimum

*Don’t salt the asparagus yet as salt draws out moisture, which slows browning of the asparagus. Also, make sure you arrange the asparagus in a single layer and without stirring, leave them untouched for 3 minutes. Flip them and cook for another minute, or until you see some char marks.

*Add in the peas to the skillet

*Increase the heat of the large pot with water in which you boiled the asparagus, add salt, and bring to a boil again. Cook the pasta until 2 minutes before al-dente (check package instructions) and reserve about 1/2 cup of the pasta water.

* Add the pasta to the skillet

* Stir in the coconut milk, season with salt, if needed, and some freshly ground pepper, nutritional yeast, ground nutmeg

* Stir in the reserved pasta water bring to a gentle simmer (add the water little at a time, as needed, until you get a creamy consistency), continue to stir until the pasta is coated well with the cream

* Add the basil, lemon juice, give a final stir and turn off heat.

* Transfer to a serving bowl. Serve hot with freshly ground pepper and red pepper flakes.

Don’t use asparagus that’s too thick or especially thin or it will wind up over or undercooked.