The flavours of lemon, dill, and asparagus are always perfect together and bring a spring freshness to this Lemon Pappardelle Asparagus Pasta

What’s Pappardelle?

Pappardelle pasta is a thin, wide, ribbon-like pasta that’s especially satisfying to dig into. The silky, slippery long noodles are perfect for sauces and plus, fun to eat.  In fact, the name, Pappardelle comes from the verb “pappare”, which means to “gobble up” (Wikipedia). And gobble up we did. These noodles were the perfect pasta to use in this Lemon Pappardelle Asparagus Pasta. I tossed the asparagus and noodles in a lemony cream sauce and fresh dill.

Cooking Perfect Asparagus 

I’m excited that local asparagus is finally showing up in markets here, one of the first crops of spring. The flavour of fresh locally grown asparagus is way better than the imported ones. Really, there’s no comparison. The only thing better is the foraged asparagus that we can find here. Coming across a patch of wild asparagus while on a hike is always a treat.  These cultivated spears were fresh and perfect with hardly any woodiness to the stems. They only needed about 2 minutes in the pot at the end of the pasta cooking time for that perfect tender crispness that we want. Properly cooked asparagus is perfection. Overcooked asparagus, as with any fresh veggie, is well, far from it.

Vegetable Cooking Tip:

Whenever I cook a pasta dish with veggies, I put the vegetables in the pot with the boiling pasta in the last couple of cooking minutes. Why get out another pot when you don’t need to, right? I’m all for saving steps and pot washing in the kitchen. My husband, aka clean up guy, appreciates the heck out of me for that.

Using Low Fat Greek Yogurt For A Healthier, But Still Creamy Dish

I like to use fat-free Greek or Balkan style yogurt in recipes. The yogurt is a perfect sub for cream or sour cream. You don’t notice a difference in taste or creaminess, but you leave out all that fat. And who needs extra fat?

If you love pasta, you may also love Salmon Fettuccine Alfredo or Chicken Stroganoff, or for a heartier option, check out Kale & Sausage Pasta.

Lemon Pappardelle Pasta & Asparagus

Colleen

This Lemon Asparagus Pasta is made with pappardelle and uses Greek yogurt for a light but creamy sauce.

5 from 3 votes

Print Recipe

Prep Time 2 mins

Cook Time 9 mins

Total Time 11 mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings 4 servings

Calories 249 kcal

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• 1 pound asparagus trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces.
• 8 oz pappardelle pasta
• 1/2 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
• juice and zest of one large lemon
• 1/4 cup fresh dill chopped

Instructions

 

• In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta 5 minutes
• Add asparagus to the boiling pasta and cook for a further 2 minutes
• Scoop out a cup of pasta water and reserve
• Drain pasta and asparagus in a colander, and keep aside.
• In the pot, whisk together yogurt, lemon juice and zest, and dill
• Add pasta and asparagus back into the pot and toss with the sauce, adding reserved pasta water to desired consistency.
• Serve hot

Notes

To trim asparagus, bend the stalks until they snap and discard the woody ends.

Nutrition

Serving: 1.5gCalories: 249kcalCarbohydrates: 47gProtein: 12gFat: 1gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 16mgPotassium: 412mgFiber: 4gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 1085IUVitamin C: 8.8mgCalcium: 73mgIron: 3.4mg

Tried this recipe? What changes did you make?Let us know how it was!