Description

This green garlic pasta highlights a spring vegetable that is tender, vibrant, and so delicious. It comes together in 30 minutes, and will for sure be a family favorite!

You can pair this pasta with a lemon garlic chicken, or for my vegetarian friends, this recipe is just as good with burrata instead of chicken.

Ingredients

Units Scale

For the Spring Vegetable Fresh Pasta:

1 stalk, or about 1/2 cup of green garlic
4 tablespoons of European butter (I love the Straus brand – the nice butter is worth the splurge here)
1/2 – 3/4 cup of chicken broth
12 ounces fresh short pasta – I used strozzapreti
1 bunch asparagus cut into 2″ pieces on a bias
1/3 cup fresh mint; tightly packed leaves, chopped
1/3 cup pasta water
1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese
kosher salt
black pepper
maldon salt

For the lemon garlic chicken:

1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced or minced
1.5 teaspoons kosher salt
6 grinds of black pepper
2 long peels of lemon zest, or 1/4 lemon zested using a microplane
1 tablespoon of neutral oil

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 400F.
Bring a large pot of water up to a boil.
As the water is coming up to a boil, chop the mint, slice the garlic and green garlic, and bias the asparagus.
Marinate the chicken with the salt, pepper, garlic, lemon zest, and black pepper. Mix well then set this aside.
Heat a cast iron or oven proof pan on medium high heat. Once hot, add the chicken to the pan. Cook and sear for 4 minutes, then flip and transfer to the oven. Cook at 400F for 12 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165F. If you don’t have a meat thermometer, you can cut a piece and check if it’s still pink inside.
Heat another pan on medium high heat. Add the butter to the pan and let this melt. Add the green garlic and saute on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the asparagus to the butter and green garlic mixture and cook for 1 minute. Then, add the chicken broth to the pan and let this come to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium low as you boil the pasta.
The pot of water should be boiling at this point. Add several large pinches of salt, then add the pasta.
Cook the pasta for 3 minutes, and reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water near the end of cooking. Add the al dente pasta directly to the sauce pan along with 1/3 cup of pasta water. Add the grated parmesan cheese and chopped mint and give everything a mix. Add a tablespoon more of olive oil and give it a taste (you want it to be more liquidy than you think, as it will cool and the sauce will thicken). Adjust seasoning to taste with a pinch of salt, pepper, or olive oil, and remove from the heat. You should not cook the pasta for more than 3 minutes after transferring it from the boiling water.
After the chicken is cooked, slice this into 1/2″ thick pieces. Plate the pasta in a bowl, making sure to add some pieces of asparagus on top. Place the sliced chicken slightly off center, then garnish with mint. Give the pasta another drizzle of olive oil (optional, but recommended), and enjoy immediately!

Equipment

cast iron pan

Buy Now →

Notes

Instead of lemon garlic chicken, you can use burrata. It’s incredibly delicious with this pasta, and it’s important to top each piece of burrata with salt and olive oil.
You can do this with just one pan if you prefer. Just cook the pasta first and rinse it under cold water to stop the cooking. Don’t worry, there will be enough starch from the reserved pasta water. Use that same pan to cook your sauce and mix everything together.
For the lemon garlic chicken, you’re also welcome to cook this using your favorite method. I love the cast iron sear, then finish in the oven. You can also directly roast the marinated chicken thighs in the oven for 15 minutes, and broil for 1 minute at the end to get a bit of browning.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Method: Stovetop