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Asparagus Malloredus

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A recipe of my own creation, very Italian nonetheless. Quickly prepared, this makes an ideal romantic dinner soaked with enough Cognac to guarantee the meal will meet a successful outcome! I even list a most exquisite & highly appropriate musical accompaniment.

This is another recipe of my own invention, not that I have any claims to originality. You will find many variations of this. My friend Zed omits the Cognac and adds some Parma ham. But it is a really delicious and delicate dish, prone to reconcile anybody with asparagus. The alcohol in the Cognac leaves the pan for a better world before it reaches your plate, so it is fit for even the strictest T-totaller.

You can make this in a few minutes time with only a pot of boiling water and a saucepan. Here I prepared it on a week night right next to my stove with only minimal tools.

Asparagus Malloreddus
For 4 as a romantic main course
1 bunch green asparagus
500gr / 2 lbs malloreddus pasta or another short, durum wheat, bronze extruded, dry pasta
1 glass / 0.5 cup heavy cream or mascarpone
1 glass Cognac
1 tbsp butter
100gr Parmesan, if possible freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Cut the asparagus right where you draw the line between edible and disposable.

If in doubt, cut then at one third from the bottom.

Fill your largest pot with water, add salt and bring to the boil.

Delicately immerse the asparagus in the boiling water and leave until almost cooked through but not quite, about 4 minutes. If in doubt, undercook. You can always catch up later, but there is no uncooking an overcooked asparagus.

Fish the asparagus out with a sieve...

... and transfer to a cutting board. Cut in 5cm / 2'' segments. Cover the pot again and increase the heat. Do not throw the water out or you'll have to heat up another pot of water, which is bad both for your karma and for your guests who will have a longer wait.

Take out your fanciest pan and melt a tablespoon butter over medium heat. The pan maketh the chef - does it really? If you have only mundane pans, no worry, proceed just the same and transfer the finished pasta to a serving dish or plates.

In they go (my signature shot with the vertical plate above the pan, I guess!).

Sauté in the butter, tossing from time to time.

Add the cream and toss some more.

Meet the malloreddus. The fine people from the Slow Food section at COOP, a Swiss supermarket chain, import this high-quality Sardinian specialty pasta. I like them for their shape that looks like worms or bits of asparagus, they grab a lot of sauce as you eat them and retain much bite. But feel free to prepare this with penne or some other pasta.

Meanwhile, the asparagus cooking water will have reached its boiling point again. drop the malloreddus in the water.

Cook al dente, so that the retain enough bite to withstand the further cooking they will endure in the cream and asparagus.

Transfer the pasta to the pan and increase the heat so as to make the cream boil and reduce.

Toss and combine. Do not add any seasoning (salt or pepper) at this stage, as the parmesan and cognac will add their own powerful contributions.

like champagne, cognac enjoys as much success abroad as it does in France. In the USA, it has become a cultural symbol for people of African descent. Have you ever heard Pass the Courvoisier? A torrid dream of a song for any Drinks & Spirits marketing executive, with the delicate urban poetry Busta Rhymes has gotten us used to:

Pass the Courvoisier
Give me the Henny, you can give me the Cris
You can pass me the Remi, but the pass the Courvoisier
Give me the ass, you could give me the dough
You can give me 'dro, but pass the Courvoisier
Give me some money, you can give me some cars
But you can give me the bitch make sure you pass the Courvoisier
Give me some shit, you can give me the cribs
You can give me whaever just pass the Courvoisier
But I'm getting sidetracked here. Take the Henny out, and pour as much as you can afford on the pasta.

If you have an eye for showmanship, you might try to flambé the dish as you bring it to the table. But whatever you do, be sure to let most of the alcohol evaporate, or your dish will taste like an expensive French disinfectant.

Add some parmesan cheese, then serve as you see fit: directly in the pan, or in a serving dish or a small green plate. Really delicious!


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34 Comments

  • #1
  • Comment by Paul Mckenna
And this is part of your heart friendly theme of recipes ?

Still reads delicious and simple too.

Paul
  • #2
  • Comment by layni
So simple & beautiful. Will definitely try.
Love this site.
  • #3
  • Comment by Jason
This looks reallly tasty and simple!

The Ladies Man, a popular sketch comedy on American TV, also drank Courvoisier. Sometimes funny.
I usually come here for the fantastic food, but today I enjoyed the humor even more.  I love your wording throughout the entire post.

Oh, and did I mention that you made an asparagus dish that looks simply delicious?  Thanks FX!
  • #5
  • Comment by thuan
Haha. I would have never imagined busta rhymes mentioned on this blog!
  • #6
  • Comment by Richard
"ideal romantic dinner soaked with enough Cognac to guarantee the meal will meet a successful outcome! [...]For 4 as a romantic main course"

Say no more... nudge nudge. It must be those fancy pans, Francois. I only have mundane pots so I've only ever had a romantic meal with one other... Oh, you continentals ;-)

By the way, what are the terms of the afore-mentionted "guarantee"
  • #7
  • Comment by AlexFalk
Another visual winner.
The pasta looks an awful lot like maggots, but I am sure the aroma and the taste would quell any misgivings by the diners.

I tend to barbecue my asparagus, but this method is one that I will have to try. (with the flambé of course)
  • #8
  • Comment by Jamie
Greetings from Brooklyn, NY!  This recipe looks spectactular.  Thanks again for more great food ideas and the as-entertaining-as-ever commentary.  The Busta Rhymes bit led me to finally commment.

Do you ever cook with tofu?  I understand it's not tremendously popular among meat eaters (I am quite the serious carnivore) but do enjoy it from time to time.  It's ability to take on varieties of flavors makes it quite versatile.    
Okay, when I can pop in? ;-)
This looks delicious. Great idea. Oh and we have the same knife /set so like it even more :)
  • #11
  • Comment by Philippe
This looks absolutely delightful. The combination of Parmeggiano cheese and cognac must be fabulous !

It also helps that I adore asparagus anyway !
  • #12
  • Answered by fx
Paul, how such a romantic dinner dish could not be anything but heart friendy?
  • #13
  • Answered by fx
Layni, thanks for visiting and I hope you get to try this dish!
  • #14
  • Answered by fx
Kyle, thanks for your praise, I was myself converted to the cult of the Asparagus after cooking this!
  • #15
  • Answered by fx
Thuan, Busta is like myself, a man of letters and of discerning tastes, and it is only normal I honor him in one article. After all, a man who drinks his weight in Cognac every forthnight cannot be entirely bad, right?
  • #16
  • Answered by fx
Richard, I am certain you can find some beautiful handmade circular salad bowl to serve this pasta if you feel your pot won't cut it. That's how Italians do, and God knows they know how to close a deal!
  • #17
  • Answered by fx
Alex, indeed they do look like maggots, very tasty maggots in fact. But the context and texture makes it clear before even touching them that they are just a short pasta. Maybe you could try with very short tubular maccheroni?
  • #18
  • Answered by fx
Jamie, thanks for visiting and I'm glad to hear good old Busta finally smoked you out of what is known as leech status on the web. Yes tofu is nice but I only eat freshly made tofu, not really sold in Swiss shops. But I have plans to make my own, it is apparently as easy as the Paneer of my other article. Hope to see you back!
  • #19
  • Comment by Saxit
Why do you boil the asparagus first? I'd just fry them from the start and skip the boiling part.
Since the flavour molecules of asparagus (and many other vegetables) are water solvable you only lose flavor by boiling them.
  • #20
  • Comment by AlexFalk
Oh, to be honest, if someone was put off by the shape of the pasta, I would tell them kindly to leave.( with a swift kick to the rear)

It would be a fun experiment to see what different alcoholic beverages would impart to the dish.  Grappa for one, or perhaps a dark Rum.
  • #21
  • Comment by lucanis
Hello fx,

my first thought from the first photo was that this must be from your adventure cooking series: maggots with parmesan.
But it looks delicious and might even turn me to green asparagus (around here it's almost exclusively sold in the still-white state) because that definitely looks better.
Would you care to shortly elaborate about the remaining components of the meal? Appetizers, Dessert?
  • #22
  • Comment by Xavier
Done tonight with my best mate ! My cellar was a little short in Cognac, so I did opt for Noilly Pratt in a totally different style (Ok, it's just I could not afford the Henny). Match perfectly, in the pan and in the glass. Sweet and herbal.
Easy and gorgeous with a classy touch, I liked it.
Malloredus were really great, they did join la Pasta di Gragnano in my Pasta' Hall of Fame. I'm glad Coop has such a great choice. Oppositely, I was quite disappointed by the Selection Line of the Orange Giant. Doesn't resist to the boil.
For dessert, Cardamom Ice cream di Luigi Predrazzi. Welcome in heaven.
  • #23
  • Answered by fx
Saxit, fried asparagus are usually not considered a delicacy, you'd need a large amount of fat to cook them through anway. Yep, you lose a little of the flavor in the stock but there is so much asparagus in this dish anyway that it doesn't really matter. Undercooked asparagus are not very romantic!
  • #24
  • Answered by fx
Alex, I think you could do this with proper whiskey as well.
  • #25
  • Answered by fx
Lucanis, I think this dish will definitely yield better romantic results as the Parmesan maggots. That night I did not have anything else, but you could definitely serve this with the Raspberry Moelleux although the calorie bill will running high!
  • #26
  • Answered by fx
Xavier, thanks for trying this but with the Noilly Pratt it must have been a rather bitter dish! Perhaps you might want to try with whiskey, even a little drop goes a long way. Migros sucks for quality food, COOP rules!
  • #27
  • Comment by Saxit
#23 fx - I always cook my asparagus al dente :P
  • #28
  • Comment by Marmota
Hi! enough of a leach then! I've been reading your posts for a while and really enjoyed them. Last week I decided to prepare this dish for my romantic self and it was really delicious! I did not quite use the same ingreadients, but using asparagus and champignos, and white wine (you can drink the rest of the bottle while enjoying the pasta) plus soya cream (sorry, no dairy products for me) it comes out just right!

btw, in spain we cook the green asparagus on the pan, just a bit of olive oil, then you toss in the asparagus and keep them rolling, a bit of good "fat salt" (as we call it, the big grain type) and they are really nice.
  • #29
  • Comment by Moonlight
Your recipe is very interesting.I like it so much :)
  • #30
  • Answered by fx
Marmota, thanks for coming out of the ethereal woodwork of the Internet and try this dish! You are definitely right to make the dish with ingredients you like, why bother with cream if you prefer soya, I'm sure the result is just as good even if different. I'll try the asparagus fried in olive oil, sounds like a great idea!
  • #31
  • Comment by Marmota
fx, remember just a little bit of olive oil, no need for swimming asparagus. If you have one of these pans of cast iron with a non-uniform bottom (valleys and mountains, sorry I don't know the name in english) used for meat mainly, they are the best. Otherwise a normal pan should do the trick.
  • #32
  • Comment by Scotland Squire
Well, there is no romance going on here.  My husband is too full!!!

I blanched the asparagus in the pasta water and then grilled it on my cast iron grill pan with just a bit of oil. I only had penne pasta to use, but this came out great.  My husband doesn't usually eat pasta and he went to town on this dish, overeating, I'm afraid.  It was so delicious.  You will love this dish.  It is a must to try.

Scotland Squire in London, England
Dear FX,

     I made this for my wife last night and it was as fabulous as you describe it here.  I made a slight variation in using a small amount of shitaki mushrooms which I sauteed in the butter before introducing the asparagus.

I didn't have any malloredus so I substitued gemelli.

Thank you for the wonderful and simple inspiration for an easy meal to make after a hard week at work.

John
  • FX's answer→ Thanks for trying this, John, and glad it worked for you!




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