Steps

• Clean the asparagus:

  – remove the woody part of the stalks (only the terminal part of the stalk, about 1/2 to 3/4 inch at most)

  – cut off a little more of the stalk so you only use the tender part that cooks faster. I recommend not throwing away the trimmed parts because they can be used for other preparations, for example in the next recipe 😉 (this vegetable sauce).

  Rinse the asparagus under running water. Having removed, or set aside, the tougher parts, it won’t be necessary to peel the stalks.

  Steam the asparagus for 8-10 minutes, no more. I cooked them this way, but they can also be cut into pieces and sautéed directly in the pan.

  Meanwhile, bring the water to a boil for the pasta and dice the scamorza.

  In a sauté pan prepare a chopped onion and sauté it in a little oil, add the asparagus (which by now will be cooked) and let them absorb the flavor with the onion.

  Add the pasta: since this is dried egg pasta the cooking time is quick, no more than 4-5 minutes.

  During the pasta’s cooking time add a little cooking cream to the asparagus, just a couple of tablespoons, enough to help bind the sauce.

  Drain the pasta, pour it into the pan and mix quickly. Add the smoked scamorza (leave some aside) and immediately transfer the pasta to a baking dish (or onto the baking tray). I divided the pasta into portions, so it’s easier to plate later: you just lift each portion with a spatula and transfer it to the plate.

  Sprinkle the pasta with the reserved scamorza and bake for a few minutes, preferably turning on only the upper heating element or the grill.

  Remove from the oven when the scamorza is golden.

• I wanted to update the photo of these chitarrine with asparagus and scamorza, so I decided to cook them again. In the meantime, I let myself be carried away by the pleasure of cooking 😊 and I made some variations.

  Undecided between writing a new recipe or modifying this one, I finally chose to add this update alongside the recipe, so you can have two different ways to prepare the same dish. And two different ways to present it at the table.

  Here’s how I re-cooked my chitarrine with asparagus and what changes I made:

  – I cooked the pasta paying attention to keep the “nest” intact,

  – and I cooked the asparagus in a covered pan,

  

• – then I placed all the sauce (asparagus, cream and scamorza) on top of the nests and covered them with a sprinkling of Parmigiano:

  

• Here they are just out of the oven:

  

• Moreover, this way it’s very easy to portion. 😉

  Since I’ve been on a diet and I always have to measure my pasta portion separately, cooking nests of chitarrine, tagliolini or tagliatelle is really handy both for the pasta portion and to differentiate the amount of sauce.

  

• I wish you a buon appetito!