Asparagus Pasta, Asparagus Salad – You Name It; I Love It
Every year I can’t wait for asparagus season to start. And then I take advantage of it to the fullest. I cook them, roast them, I even shave them. And then use them to prepare our favourite kinds of pasta, salads and other delicious meals that require this ingredient. Every year I also try to come up with a new asparagus dish, so it couldn’t be any different in 2020 (even though it is the strangest year ever!).
When I was planning to cook this asparagus pasta, I originally wanted to add only prawns. I had a dish like that many times in one of our favourite Italian restaurants. And I always wanted to recreate it in my own kitchen. However, on the day I was ready to make it, I realized I didn’t have enough prawns to serve four people. Since during the lockdown I did my best not to leave the house unnecessarily, a quick trip to the shop was out of the question. Luckily, I found a portion of salmon in my freezer.
Salmon and Prawns – Perfect Accompaniment for Saffron Cream Sauce
Salmon and saffron cream sauce are almost a classic combination, so I was pretty sure everything would work well together. And I was right – my family loved it! In truth, they loved it so much that in the short asparagus season I have already cooked this Asparagus Pasta with Saffron Cream Sauce three times. But – to be honest – they didn’t have to persuade me a lot to prepare it. This salmon and shrimp with asparagus pasta is not only delicious but also pretty easy to make.
The cooking takes only about 20 minutes. So it makes sense to prepare all the ingredients in advance, as is the case with stir-fries. (You can even do all the cutting/chopping a few hours in advance). When you are ready to cook, you should start with infusing double cream with saffron. And then there are just a few simple steps involving mainly frying, stirring and adding the ingredients in the right order. E voila – approximately half an hour later, you will have a delicious salmon and shrimp with asparagus pasta and saffron cream sauce.
Asparagus Pasta With Saffron Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- 250 ml double cream
- 3 pinches saffron
- 500 g green asparagus cut into 2cm pieces (keep the tops separately)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 tbsp butter
- 2 small shallots finely chopped
- 250 g skinless salmon cut into 2-3 cm pieces
- 250 g prawns peeled deveined and cut in 2-3 pieces (depending on their size)
- 400 g tagliatelle
Instructions
- Bring the double cream to boil on medium heat; add the saffron, set aside for 10 minutes (or as long you need to prepare the rest of the dish).
- Heat 0,5 tbsp olive oil with 1 tbsp butter, add the asparagus (excluding the tops) and fry on medium heat for 3 minutes stirring occasionally. Add the heads of the asparagus, season and cook for 1 minute longer; set aside.
- Cook the pasta as per the packet instructions (keep a cup of pasta cooking water).
- Heat the remaining 0.5 tbsp olive oil and 3 tbsp butter on medium heat, add the chopped shallots and fry stirring for 3-5 minutes till they are golden.
- Add the salmon pieces and fry for 2 minutes; then add the prawns and fry for 2-3 minutes longer.
- Combine the fish with the asparagus, and saffron cream; heat up, season well and add the cooked pasta. If the dish seems to be too dry add some of the pasta water (if you are not counting calories, you can add some extra butter).
Related Recipes:
https://tastesofhealth.eu/recipe/asparagus-pappardelle-with-salmon-in-red-pesto-sauce/
https://tastesofhealth.eu/recipe/spinach-salad-with-strawberries-and-asparagus/
https://tastesofhealth.eu/recipe/mediterranean-salad-asparagus/
This looks fantastic!
Saffron pasta looks good. For some reason, I cant see your posts on my reader. Glad I caught up.
That sounds absolutely delicious and I definitely want to try out this recipe soon!
Thank you 🙂
Thank you so much! At the time you posted this comment I had some problems with my website, I hope now you can see the photos. Thank you for your comment 🙂
Thank you, Adarsh. I am sure you will like it 🙂
I love your recipes, as well as your gorgeous images
Luisa, thank you so so much <3 Such nice words motivate me even more to work on my blog and recipes 🙂