Adding a bit of the pasta cooking water thins the goat cheese-and mustard-based sauce and helps it adhere to the fettuccine.
Recipe information
Yield
Serves 4
Ingredients
1/4 cup pine nuts
Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
3/4 pound fettuccine (or other thick-stranded pasta)
2 bunches asparagus, trimmed, halved lengthwise, and cut crosswise into thirds
4 ounces creamy goat cheese, broken into pieces
2 tablespoons grainy mustard
2 tablespoons snipped fresh dill leaves
Preparation
Step 1
In a small skillet over medium heat, toast the pine nuts, stirring often, until golden, 2 to 3 minutes.
Step 2
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the fettuccine until al dente, according to the package instructions, adding the asparagus during the last 5 minutes of cooking. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water; drain.
Step 3
Return pasta, asparagus, and reserved pasta water to the pot. Toss with the goat cheese, mustard, dill, and toasted pine nuts. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
Reprinted with permission from Everyday Food: Great Food Fast by Martha Stewart Living Magazine. Copyright © 2007 by Martha Stewart Living Magazine. Published by Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.
Martha Stewart Living magazine was first published in 1990. Over the years, more than two dozen books have been published by the magazine's editors.
Martha Stewart is the author of dozens of best-selling books on cooking, entertaining, gardening, weddings, and decorating. She is the host of The Martha Stewart Show, the successful daily syndicated television show.
