Sausage and Pasta with Asparagus

Today, Day One of the Garden Instillation, we spent the day raking out the garden to remove the large sod clumps and renegade dandelions. The garden is reclaimed lawn which was really just tamed field grass, so it doesn't want to give up easily. Then we planted raspberry bushes and prepped the patches for more asparagus and raspberries. Just before we sat down to dinner an old high school friend's husband brought over a dump truck load of old horse manure to be spread on the garden. The plan is that the farmer down the road (the original sod remover) will come and till the manure into the soil, which means that all of the manure needs to be spread across the garden before tomorrow. This might not sound like too much work, but trust me, it is. (You'd believe me if you could see all of the typos I am making.) By dinner time, we just wanted something quick, tasty and hearty.

We started with a simple salad made with lettuce from the cold frame.

The cold frame is possibly one of the most brilliant inventions; it's basically a small greenhouse and it allows you to start things like lettuces and onions as soon as the ground thaws. Given this head start we are already enjoying fresh lettuce salads. In fact, my Bob said that she hasn't bought lettuce for at least a month. The salad was just fresh lettuce, thinly shaved asiago cheese (I used a vegetable peeler to make the shavings) and my go-to vinaigrette. Then we had the hearty pasta and sausage dish; it was exactly what we were craving for dinner.

Pasta with Sausage and Asparagus

1 lb whole wheat lumache-shaped pasta
4 links sausage
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 lb asparagus
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup shredded asiago cheese
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper

Put the pasta water on to boil. Get a large saute pan hot over medium-high heat, adding the olive oil to the pan. While the pan gets hot, dice the onion and the garlic cloves. Saute the onions for 5 - 7 minutes, until they are softened and beginning to turn golden. While the onions are sauteing, remove the sausage from the casing. After the onions are softened, add the garlic and the sausage. By this point the pasta water should be boiling, add a large dash of salt and the pasta. The pasta I used here is called lumache and it really does look like snail shells. It works well for this dish because the sauce and sausage get caught inside the hollow shells. If you don't have (or can't find the lumache) feel free to use and short pasta that seems likely to catch the sauce and sausage.

While the sausage is cooking, trim the tough ends off the asparagus and cut the asparagus into 2 inch sections. When the sausage has cooked for about 5 minutes and is about halfway cooked add the asparagus, the chicken stock and the wine. Stir to combine and put a lid on the pan for approximately 5 minutes, until the asparagus is bright green and the sausage is cooked through. By this point the pasta should be cooked to al dente. Drain the pasta and return it to the pasta pan. Then add the sausage mixture to the pasta, stirring to combine. At this point, stir in the crushed red pepper flakes and the asiago cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with a sprinkling of cheese on top. Bon Appetit!

Serves 4

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