Prep Time: 90 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Ingredients:
- Vegetable broth
- 4 1/2 pounds asparagus
- 6 artichokes
- 10 ounces (250 g) freshly shelled peas
- 1/4 cup (50 g) unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup (100 ml) olive oil
- A small onion, sliced
- 2 ounces (50 g) pancetta, shredded
- 4 eggs
- A sprinkling of white wine
- Basil and parsley
- 3 tablespoons Parmigiano
- 1 1/3 pounds (600 g) short fusilli or twists
- Salt & pepper to taste
Preparation:
Wash the asparagus spears well and boil them in batches, in a narrow high sided pot with their feet in the boiling water and their tips out of it. When the tips are tender remove the asparagus spears and set them aside. Remove what is tender of the remainders of the stalks and blend it to obtain a cream, which you shlould thin with a little vegetable broth should it be too thick.Cook the peas in a little butter, seasoning them with the onion and pancetta.
Strip away the tough outer leaves from the artichokes, and then you get to the tender inner sections (see instructions if need be) cut them into thin wedges, discarding any hair you might find in the chokes, and boil them briefly in lightly salted water and lemon juice. Drain them when they’re still firm, and sauté them in a skillet with olive oil and butter, sprinkling a little wine over them. Add the artichoke tips and purée, and the peas with their seasonings. Check seasoning, then mince and add basil and parsley to taste. Sprinkle a little more vegetable broth over it all to keep the sauce from being too thick, and keep it warm by transferring it to a double boiler.
Beat the eggs with the Parmigiano and a pinch of salt.
Cook the pasta until it is al dente in lightly salted water, then drain it and return it to the pot. Pour in half of the vegetable sauce and the beaten eggs, turning everything over a moderate flame while the sauces thicken (a couple of minutes). Pour the fusilli out onto a heated serving dish, pour the remaining sauce over them, and serve.
Yield: 6 servings fusilli alla primavera.
