This week's work · 2026-04-13
The first asparagus of the year, and the pasta that let it shine
The market finally had asparagus — thin, green, and worth every minute of waiting. We kept it simple: spring pasta, lemon, and a shower of pecorino.
The first asparagus of the year showed up at the market on Saturday, thin spears bundled with rubber bands, still cool from the morning. We've been waiting for them since March, the way you wait for something you know is worth it. Marlowe bought two bundles without asking, and Tate didn't argue — the whole ride home was about whether to roast them or grill them or do something we hadn't tried yet.
We settled on pasta, the way we usually do when we want the vegetable to be the whole point. We snapped the woody ends, cut the spears on a sharp diagonal, and let them barely cook in the pan — a few minutes in good olive oil, a splash of the starchy pasta water, and they turned bright green and tender-crisp. Then we added the lemon zest, a lot of it, and finished the whole thing with pecorino shaved thin as paper.
The lesson was about timing. The asparagus did its job in the last three minutes of the dinner, not the first thirty. Some things are worth waiting for, and some things only need a little heat and a lot of lemon to be exactly right.
We ate it standing at the counter, forks in hand, and agreed it was the best thing we'd made in weeks. That's the whole point of spring, we think — the first taste of something green after a long winter of roots and stews.
Some things are worth waiting for, and some things only need a little heat and a lot of lemon to be exactly right.
02 · The recipe
Asparagus, Lemon & Pecorino Spring Pasta
Thin spring asparagus barely cooked in olive oil, tangled with fettuccine, bright lemon zest, and shaved pecorino — dinner in under half an hour.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Total
- 25 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
What you'll need
Non-perishable
- 12 ounces bronze-cut fettuccine
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Flaky sea salt, to finish
Perishable
- 1 bunch thin asparagus (about 1 pound), woody ends snapped off
- 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup grated pecorino romano, plus more for serving
Method
- Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook the fettuccine until just shy of al dente, about a minute less than the package says — it finishes in the pan. Scoop out a cup of the starchy water before draining.
- While the pasta cooks, cut the asparagus on a sharp diagonal into pieces about two inches long. Heat the olive oil in a wide skillet over medium, add the garlic, and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add the asparagus with a pinch of salt and toss for 2–3 minutes, until bright green and barely tender. Add the red pepper flakes and the lemon zest and cook one minute more.
- Add the drained pasta to the skillet with a splash of pasta water. Toss over medium heat, adding water a little at a time, until the sauce turns glossy and coats every strand — about 2 minutes.
- Take the pan off the heat, add the lemon juice and most of the pecorino, and toss hard. Taste, add salt and pepper, and serve with the rest of the cheese and a shower of flaky salt.
03 · What we used
The one thing worth mentioning.
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ingredient
Garofalo Bronze-Cut Fettuccine
Bronze-cut pasta is the difference between a sauce that coats and a sauce that puddles. This one earns its place.
Why we loved it: The bronze-cut surface is the whole point — the sauce clings instead of sliding off, and it holds its bite through the toss with the asparagus. We've made this pasta with a dozen shapes and this fettuccine is the one we keep coming back to.
Worth knowing: Costs a little more than supermarket pasta, but a box goes a long way and the texture is noticeably better.
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ingredient
Frantoia Sicilian Extra Virgin Olive Oil
A quarter cup of good oil is doing real work here — it's worth using the one with flavor.
Why we loved it: It's peppery and green in the way fresh-pressed oil should be, and it holds up to heat without turning flat. Reviewers describe it as the oil that makes everything else on the plate taste more like itself — we agree.
Worth knowing: It's pricier than a big jug of everyday oil, so we keep it for finishing and weeknight dishes like this.
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ingredient
Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
Salt in the water is what seasons the pasta from the inside — this is the one we reach for.
Why we loved it: The crystals are light and grabby, so you can season by feel, and it dissolves quickly in the pasta water and the pan. It's the salt we reach for for everything that isn't a finishing moment.
Worth knowing: It's a bigger box than you need at first, but it keeps forever and you'll use it daily.
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ingredient
Yupanqui Organic Black Peppercorns
Fresh-cracked pepper does the same job for this pasta that it does for cacio e pepe — it's the backbone of the seasoning.
Why we loved it: Grinders who've switched say the aroma is the first thing you notice — floral, warm, with a clean heat instead of a bitter one. It's the pepper that makes a pinch taste like it was just ground, because it was.
Worth knowing: It's a single-origin spice in a generous bag — costs more than the supermarket tin, but it stays whole and aromatic for months.
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ingredient
Maldon Sea Salt Flakes
Finishing salt is what makes the dish taste crisp and clean — this is the one everyone reaches for.
Why we loved it: The pyramid flakes are the whole point — a clean mineral taste, a light crunch, and they dissolve fast on hot food. Chefs have finished with it for generations, and a box lasts a long time because a pinch is plenty.
Worth knowing: It's pricier than table salt, but you use a pinch at a time and it keeps for years.
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