Ingredients
- 1 pound orecchiette or penne pasta
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 ounces prosciutto, cut into 2-inch strips
- 12 ounces asparagus, trimmed and sliced thinly on bias (about 2 cups)
- 3/4 cup Spinach-Ricotta Dip, recipe follows
Directions
Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil over high heat. When it boils, add pasta and cook as indicated on box.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. When it shimmers, add prosciutto and cook, stirring occasionally, until prosciutto is crisp, about 5 minutes. Add asparagus and toss to coat evenly. Let cook until asparagus just starts to get browned on the edges, about 3 minutes.
Remove 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water. Add a few tablespoons of the water to the asparagus mixture, stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to incorporate browned bits, and remove from heat. Drain pasta and return to pot (off heat), add remaining reserved pasta cooking water, asparagus, Spinach-Ricotta Dip, and stir until thoroughly coated. Taste and adjust seasoning, as desired. Serve immediately.
Spinach-Ricotta Dip:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- 3 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 (10-ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed
- 1/2 cup fresh ricotta
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
In a large frying pan, heat oil over medium heat. When oil shimmers, add pine nuts and cook until they make a popping noise and start to brown, about 1 minute. Stir in garlic and onion and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Transfer onion mixture to a food processor fitted with a blade, add in remaining ingredients, and process until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning, as necessary.
Yield: 2 cups
Photo: Spinach-Ricotta Pesto Pasta with Crisp Prosciutto and Asparagus Recipe
















Review This Recipe
You must be logged in to review this recipe.
or Sign Up to Review
Newest Ratings and Reviews
Read all 12 reviews
By darryllynette
Maitland, FL
on April 12, 2013
Flag
Flag This Review?
Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.
or Cancel
Admittedly, I had to use smoked bacon instead of proscuitto, sunflower seeds instead of pine nuts, and a shallot instead of yellow onion, but it did NOT taste good. I used lots of red pepper flakes to give it some kick, as another reviewer recommended. But this did not work for me.
Plus, I thought it was fairly time consuming. Won't try it again.
By Shes So Fierce 2012
on June 07, 2012
Flag
Flag This Review?
Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.
or Cancel
This is great, I love the spinach twist in it
By juditsore
New York
on May 04, 2011
Flag
Flag This Review?
Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.
or Cancel
Very tasty dish.I have added sauteed red onions and garlic to the asparagus part of the dish. I also subsituted the prosciutto with smoked bacon. I will definitely will make this dish again.
Read all 12 reviews