Roasted Asparagus and Mushroom Pasta in Lemon-Cream Sauce

This recipe came from Our Best Bites, and I give this an 8, but with my revisions I think it could be a 9. First, I used twice as much asparagus and 3 times as many mushrooms. I increase the roasting ingredients a slight bit to compensate. I have made this twice, and I will tell you what I’m going to do next time. I’m going to decrease the lemon zest a slight bit, or put some on the side. Then, I think I might just use a normal alfredo sauce recipe and double it. The one I make I reduce the fat in and substitute olive oil for the butter and use half and half instead of cream, so it’s probably the same nutritionally as the one they use, and this guiltless alfredo recipe is a bit bland. I also roasted the vegetables for less time than it said. Otherwise, this is awesome.

Roasted Asparagus and Mushroom Pasta in Lemon-Cream Sauce
Recipe by Our Best Bites

1 lb. asparagus, tough ends snapped off
3-4 cups whole mushrooms, thickly sliced
5-6 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1/4 cup strained lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon Creole or coarse-grain mustard (I used dijon)
8 ounces uncooked linguine (I used a pound of pasta)
1 recipe Guiltless Alfredo Sauce
Optional: Grilled chicken breast or sauteed shrimp

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine trimmed asparagus and sliced mushrooms. Zest the lemons (enough to get 1 tablespoon of zest) and set the zest aside.

In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and mustard. Drizzle over the veggies and toss to combine. Spread the veggies out onto the prepared baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes or until the asparagus is tender but not mushy. Remove from oven and allow to stand for 5-10 minutes.

While the veggies are roasting, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and, when the water is ready, cook pasta al dente. Prepare the Alfredo sauce. After you’ve added the cheese, add the reserved lemon zest to the sauce. When the asparagus and mushrooms are done roasting, you can either portion out the pasta, veggies, and sauce into individual servings or toss it all together. Serves 6-8.

 

Guiltless Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients:
2 C low-fat milk
1/3 C (3 oz) low fat cream cheese
2-3 T flour
1 t salt
1 T butter
3 garlic cloves
1 C grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

Place milk, cream cheese, flour, and salt in a blender and blend until smooth. In a non-stick sauce pan, melt butter on med-high heat and add garlic. Let the garlic saute for about 30 seconds, you don’t want to burn it.

Then add milk mixture to the pan. Stir constantly for about 3 or 4 minutes or until it just comes to a simmer. Keep stirring and let it cook for a few minutes more. It should be much thicker now.
When it’s nice and thickened remove the pan from the heat. Add the cheese, stir it up and then cover immediately. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before using. It will continue to thicken upon standing. Season with additional salt if needed. Also, if you have leftovers in the fridge, the sauce will thicken almost into a solid. Just re-heat and add a little milk and it will be back to normal again.

 

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