Spring Pasta Recipe

In my earlier days as a new bride I had heard the stories of a good pasta sauce cooks for hours. I always associated pasta dishes as a labor-some task and did not prepare pasta often. When our oldest daughter married and moved to Italy, I was totally intrigued by the "Italian" preparation of pasta. As our daughter says, "If it takes more than fifteen minutes, it is taking too long". The blogger, Heidi Swanson has written several cookbooks and weekly posts easy but healthy recipes. This is Heidi's recipe. Her blog is www.101cookbooks@blogspot.com

Spring Pasta Recipe

I used thin, egg noodles here, but spaghetti, angel hair, or fettuccine would all work as well.

8 ounces / 225 g cooked, leftover pasta 2 eggs fine grain sea salt 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

3 big handfuls of sliced asparagus, and/or pea shoots, or tiny broccoli trees, or shredded greens - anything quick cooking and fresh

chopped avocado chopped herbs

Use your fingers to fluff up the leftover pasta a bit, so its not clumpy or stuck together. Set aside.

In a small bowl crack the eggs and beat them really well with a pinch of salt.

In a big skillet melt the oil and butter over medium high heat. If you're using a vegetable that might take longer to cook than others, add those to the pan - for example, asparagus or broccoli. Add a couple pinches of salt, stir, cover, and cook for a couple minutes. Until the vegetables are bright, and just cooked. Now stir in anything that just needs a quick flash of cooking - in this case pea greens, but chopped greens would go in at this point if you're using those. Stir, and cook just until tender - a minute or so. Pull about 1/3 of the vegetables out of the pan and set them aside.

Now, add the pasta to the skillet, and toss well. Once the pasta is hot, turn down the heat, wait a moment, then quickly stir in the eggs. Stir well, then cover the pan, remove from heat, and let everything sit for a minute. Uncover, give everything another toss, the egg should be cooked through. Taste, and adjust the seasoning before dividing between two plates. Top with the reserved vegetables, and some chopped avocado.

Serves 2.

Prep time: 5 min - Cook time: 5 min