• Yield: 6 servings

  • Time: 10 minutes prep, 20 minutes cooking, 30 minutes total


This is the quintessential spring luncheon dish, all about the sweetness that's finally bursting up in gardens — long-awaited asparagus, shallot and carrot — made rich with sweet cream. It's also about the way that sweetness seems more pronounced against the salty ham and the tangy mustard.

Ingredients

  • Kosher salt

  • 1 pound penne or farfalle

  • 1 pound medium asparagus spears, stems trimmed, cut into 1-1/2-inch lengths

  • 1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks

  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

  • 8 ounces sliced prosciutto, jamón ibérico, or other high-quality ham, cut into bite-size pieces

  • 1 large shallot, sliced 1/8 inch thick

  • 1 garlic clove, minced

  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

  • 1 cup heavy cream

  • 1 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade, or low-sodium store-bought

  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Instructions

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil, salt it generously, and (for an 11-minute penne, say) cook the pasta for 8 minutes, add the asparagus and carrots and cook for 3 minutes. Check the pasta and vegetables to make sure they're cooked through but still have texture, then drain.

2. While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large saut

é pan over medium heat, add the ham and shallot, and cook until lightly browned, 3 minutes or so. Add the garlic and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add the cream, stock, and mustard, and simmer for a minute or two, scraping up any brown bits.

3. Add the pasta and vegetables to the pan. Toss and cook for another 2 minutes, until cooked through and the pasta is coated. Taste for seasoning, add salt if necessary, and serve immediately in warm bowls.


Reprinted from In My Kitchen by Ted Allen with Barry Rice. Copyright © 2012. Photos copyright © 2012 by Ben Fink. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, a division of Random House, Inc. Used with permission of the publisher.