From the book Everyday Food: Great Food Fast, here is a quick dish to make with seasonal asparagus and fresh dill. If you can boil water and cut vegetables, you can make this dish! If you don’t have fettuccine noodles, use another thick-stranded pasta such as linguini.
1/4 cup pine nuts
3/4 lb fettuccine
2 bunches asparagus, trimmed
4 oz creamy goat cheese, broken into pieces
2 tbsp grainy mustard
2 tbsp snipped fresh dill leaves
Halve asparagus length-wise and cut cross-wise into third. In a small skillet over medium heat, toast pine nuts, stirring often, until golden, about 3 minutes. Set aside.
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the fettuccine until al dente (8-10 minutes), according to package directions. Add asparagus during the last 5 minutes of cooking. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water and drain the rest.
Return pasta, asparagus, and reserved pasta water to pot. Toss with the goat cheese, mustard, dill, and toasted pine nuts. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
Shown below with Cucumber Onion Salad and home-grown tomatoes:
