I think we can all agree on one thing: sometimes you just need a pasta night. I felt in a bit of a funk earlier this week (a little bit of stress can be amplified by gross sticky humidity, right?) and if there’s one thing that can bounce me back it’s usually a big bowl of pasta. I wish I was one of those people who combats a bad mood with exercise but that’s just not me, pasta is my healer. I did go to spin class to earn this bowl of pasta, because my metabolism just isn’t quite pulling it’s weight these days (weight jokes! ha!) and it was so worth it.
I concocted this recipe by mixing together a few cravings I was having. I started with a thick, al dente bucatini noodle — the tiny hole inside the bucatini is perfecting for grabbing flavors from the sauce. I mixed in some roasted asparagus topped with crispy panko bread crumbs, and bits of crispy prosciutto crumbled on top. The sauce had just a little bit of butter, white wine, garlic and thyme in it, finished with some cream and parmesan cheese. I added tons of red pepper flakes at the end because love spice in our house — you could go without it, but I love the flavor and color it adds to the dish! Get the full recipe below:
- ¾ lb. of Bucatini Pasta
- 1 large bunch of Asparagus
- Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper
- 3 Oz of Sliced Prosciutto
- ¼ Cup of Panko Bread Crumbs
- 3 Tbsp. Butter
- 2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
- ⅓ Cup White wine
- ½ Cup of Heavy Cream
- ¼ Cup of Parmesan Cheese
- 4-6 Fresh Thyme Sprigs
- Red Pepper Flakes, for serving
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook bucatini as directed to al dente; reserve about ½ cup of pasta water before draining.
- While pasta is cooking, trim asparagus into 2-3” pieces and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Transfer to a large rimmed baking sheet and spread them out so they cover ½ the pan.
- On the other half of the pan, arrange prosciutto slice. Bake the asparagus and prosciutto for 15-20 minutes (allow longer time for thicker asparagus).
- During the last 2 minutes of cooking, turn the oven up to broil and toss panko breadcrumbs on top of the asparagus. Broil for just 1-2 minutes, until breadcrumbs being to turn a golden brown.
- Remove from oven and transfer prosciutto to a cutting board to be chopped up.
- To make the sauce, melt butter in a pan over medium heat and sauté the minced garlic. Add in the white wine and whisk together, bringing to a simmer.
- Reduce heat to low and stir in the cream, parmesan cheese, and fresh thyme.
- As the sauce starts to thicken, stir in the reserved pasta water – between ⅓ to ½ cup, and then use a pair of tongs to add the bucatini to the pan to coat the pasta in sauce.
- Fold in the asparagus, remaining bread crumb bits from the pan, and chopped crispy prosciutto.
- Season to taste with additional salt and pepper, and top with red pepper flakes and additional thyme sprigs before serving.
SHOP THE POST
This looks insane!!! I can’t wait to make it on my carb cheat day! You are so right—all the greatest ingredients. I’ll look for the pasta in the international aisle at my grocery, but if I can’t find it, can you recommend something else?
Love your blog!
Jane
Aw thank you! And yes you can replace bucatini with any kind of long pasta — a thick spaghetti or linguine would work!
This looks and sounds amazing, Kate! Carbs are my love language!
xoxo, Jenna
Bostonchicparty.com
Same girl! Same!