Pasta Verde

This pasta is fresh, it’s green, it’s autumnal, it’s smooth and creamy, it’s crisp and crunchy. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a big ole bowl of pasta.

The recipe is super simple and comes together quickly, with minimal mess. First things first, cheese and spinach tortellini. Prepare according to package directions, BUT be prepared to get into that pasta water about 2 minutes before your tortellini are cooked to al dente. As your tortellini cook, prep a bunch of asparagus by snapping off the woody ends (hey yo) and cutting stalks into thirds to roughly match the size of your tortellini. Then, when your pasta is nearly cooked, add the asparagus to the pasta water and allow to boil with the tortellini for about 2 minutes, or until the pasta is done and the asparagus is beautiful, bright green and crisp/tender. And that’s it for the cooking portion of the program. Now you just need to dress that pasta, and this is what makes this cheesy veggie pasta so uniquely lovely. I served my tortellini and asparagus on a little bed of salad—arugula, salted, peppered, with a squeeze of lemon juice. Over the pasta and asparagus I crumbled fig & balsamic goat cheese (the sweetness of this cheese was next-level delicious, and it warmed up and became like a creamy pasta sauce so good), basil, toasted pepitas for crunch, a drizzle of balsamic, and a bit more lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

And that is my autumnal pasta verde. The last step is just to try to keep from eating the entire family-sized package of tortellini all yourself. *Spoiler alert: I wasn’t able.*

Note: Photo taken before adding the toasted pumpkin seeds. Oops!