Asparagus and Tomato Penne with White Wine Garlic Sauce

With the end of the semester closing rapidly, I haven't had a lot of time to cook recently.  But since I bought a bunch of asparagus last weekend, I knew I had to use it soon.  This dish came together incredibly fast.  Everything was cooked in the time it took to boil the water and cook the pasta.

Jeremy isn't a huge fan of tomatoes but he tolerated these.  And I think they added a nice acidic taste to the dish.  I made this using a nice pinot grigio (a bottle I had open in the fridge) but any dry white wine will work.  Always cook with a wine you like to drink... if it doesn't taste good in a glass, I've never found that it improves when cooked. 

As usual, I used whole wheat pasta.  I think it adds a nice nutty flavor.  The parmesan cheese is certainly optional but yummy.  You can adjust the spice by adding more or less crushed red pepper flake.  All in all, this was a very tasty, and reasonably healthy, quick pasta dish. 

Recipe:

1 bunch (approx. 1 lb.) asparagus, cut into 1 1/2" pieces

1 large tomato, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

pinch of crushed red pepper flake

1/2 of a 13.25 oz box of penne

3/4 c. dry white wine

salt and pepper to taste

parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Place water in a large pot and bring to a boil.  Add penne and cook according to package directions, draining just short of al dente.

2. While water is coming to a boil, heat a large saute pan (with a lid) over medium heat.  Add 2 tbs. olive oil.

3. Add garlic and crushed red pepper flake to the oil.  Stir and saute for 1-2 minutes until garlic is golden brown, but not burnt. (If it burns it turns very bitter.)

4. Add asparagus and cover with lid.  Cook 3-4 minutes stirring occasionally until asparagus begins to become tender.

5. Add wine and stir.  Bring to a boil.

6. Add cooked penne, tomato, and season to taste.  

7. Continue cooking and stirring until the wine is mostly absorbed by the penne.

8. Serve topped with parmesan cheese.