Spring Mafalde with Peas and Asparagus is a typically Italian first course pasta dish that effortlessly transforms into a perfect all-in-one meal complete with carbohydrates, proteins, and healthy fats.
The spring mafalde pair excellently with plant proteins like peas, combined with seasonal organic green asparagus sprinkled with toasted sunflower seeds (healthy fats), very simple, seasonal, springy, and colorful ingredients.
Peas are rich in antioxidants, lutein and zeaxanthin, beta-carotene and folates, and contain valuable minerals like potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, selenium, iron.
And what vitamins do we find? Vitamin A, Vitamin C, B vitamins, Vitamin J, Vitamin K.
So, we have good pasta, precious legumes, and a superfood like asparagus that I’ve talked about a lot often on the blog.
Why are asparagus good for you?
Because they are low in calories, and thus suitable for a proper detox.
Asparagus contain ascorbic acid, thiamine, and niacin, Vitamin E, iron, and folic acid. They also contain a lot of quercetin, a diet rich in quercetin protects heart health.
Sometimes I’m asked, ‘how do you cook asparagus?’ I’ve never had doubts, I steam them to preserve more nutrients. So even in this recipe, I steamed them separately and then added them to the dish at the end.
To give the dish a bit of crunchiness, I added toasted sunflower seeds, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant.
And finally, I added color with some calendula petals that bloom this season, we also find antioxidants and Vitamin A here, anti-inflammatory and immune-stimulant.
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring
Ingredients
- 9.9 oz mafalde
- 7 oz peas
- 10 green asparagus
- 1 shallot
- 3 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp sunflower seeds (toasted)
- 1 tbsp calendula petals (or other edible flowers)
- 1 pinch pepper
- to taste sea salt
Steps
In a pan, pour a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, add the finely chopped shallot and let it stew for a few minutes without frying.
Add the peas (which can be frozen or fresh), season with salt and pepper, cover, and cook for fifteen minutes.
Meanwhile, wash the asparagus, cut off the final tough piece of the stalk, and steam them for fifteen minutes, checking the cooking. Set aside.
Boil the salted water and put in the mafalde, cook for ten minutes al dente, checking the cooking. Drain and transfer to a bowl.
Blend the peas with an immersion blender and also add some tender asparagus stalks.
Pour into the bowl and mix well with the mafalde. Add some asparagus tips, toasted sunflower seeds, calendula petals, or other edible spring flowers.
Adjust the flavor with a drizzle of oil and pepper and serve.
Timo e Lenticchie’s Tips
If you have leftover pasta, you can store it well-covered for the next day. The cream of peas ensures a softness that doesn’t diminish.
You can use another type of legume like cannellini beans, and instead of asparagus, you can add other seasonal vegetables. Finally, try using pumpkin or shelled hemp seeds instead of sunflower seeds.
Spring flowers that are edible? Primroses, violets, daisies, arugula flowers or Chinese cabbage.
Spring flowers that are edible? Primroses, violets, daisies, arugula flowers or Chinese cabbage.
