Creamy Purple Asparagus & Lemon Spaghetti
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Total: 20 mins
As if we weren’t excited enough about asparagus, along comes this colourful character to steal the show: stunning purple asparagus is the superstar in this quick spaghetti supper, coated in a creamy sage, lemon and caper sauce.
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Ingredients you'll need
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 lemon
  • A handful of sage, leaves only
  • 250g purple asparagus
  • 1 tbsp capers
  • 200g spaghetti
  • 20cl soya cream
From your kitchen
  • Sea salt
  • ½ tbsp olive oil
  • Freshly ground pepper
You'll need
  • Large pan with lid
  • Frying pan
Step by step this way
  • 1.

    Fill and boil the kettle. Peel and grate or crush the garlic. Zest and juice the lemon. Finely shred the sage leaves. Snap the woody ends off the purple asparagus (if you bend them they will break at the right point) and cut the tender tips into thirds. Rinse 1 tbsp capers.

  • 2.

    Fill a large pan with hot water from the kettle and add a good pinch of salt. Bring back to the boil then add the spaghetti. Cook for 6 mins till the pasta is almost cooked.

  • 3.

    While the spaghetti is cooking, place a frying pan on a medium heat for 2 mins then pour in ½ tbsp olive oil. Add the garlic and fry for 1 min, stirring. Then add the lemon juice, sage leaves and capers. Stir to mix. Pour in the soya cream and very gently warm through for 1 min (keep the heat low so the soya cream doesn't overheat and split).

  • 4.

    After the spaghetti has cooked for 6 mins, add the chopped asparagus. Simmer for 2 mins till the pasta and asparagus are tender.

  • 5.

    Scoop a mugful of water out of the pasta pan (or use a ladle). Drain the pasta and asparagus.

  • 6.

    Add the pasta and asparagus to the creamy sauce and toss together to coat. Add a little of the cooking liquid to loosen the sauce a little if you need to. Taste and add more salt or pepper if you prefer. Divide the lemony asparagus spaghetti between a couple of warmed plates and serve topped with the lemon zest.

  • Tip

    Eat All Your Greens
    You can turn the woody ends of the asparagus into pesto. Just pop them in a processor and blitz to finely chop, them then add a handful of fresh herbs, like mint, parsley, coriander or basil. Add a handful of nuts, like pine nuts, walnuts or almonds, a finely chopped garlic clove and a pinch of salt. Blitz again to combine, then slowly trickle in some olive oil till you have a smooth pesto. Taste, add some salt if needed. Store the pesto in a tub or jar in the fridge. It can be stirred into pasta, potatoes or rice, spread over pizza bases, drizzled over soups and dolloped into salad dressings.

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