Vegetarian mains
Asparagus, mushroom and pea carbonara
This is a vegetarian, springtime version of a classic pasta dish. It’s packed with some of our favourite seasonal veg, asparagus and peas, with mushrooms and cheese bringing umami (savoury) flavour. Simple, tasty, moreish!
Ingredients
- 400g garden peas, unpodded weight
- 200g mushrooms
- 200g asparagus
- 2 garlic cloves
- 15g parsley
- 1 lemon
- 1 egg
- 125ml double cream
- 40g Italian-style hard cheese
- 200g linguine
Method
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Step 1
Pod the peas into a bowl.
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Step 2
Slice the mushrooms (1cm). Snap off the asparagus bases, then halve the stalks, keeping the tips intact as whole pieces and slicing the remaining stalks into long thin diagonal ½ cm pieces.
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Step 3
Peel and finely grate the garlic. Finely chop the parsley. Finley grate about 1 tsp of lemon zest.
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Step 4
Separate the egg yolk and white (the white isn’t needed, save for another meal). In a bowl, mix the egg yolk, cream, two-thirds of the Italian cheese, plenty of freshly ground black pepper to season and a pinch of salt.
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Step 5
Boil the linguine for 6 minutes.
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Step 6
Add the peas and asparagus tips to the linguine pan. Boil for a further approx. 4 minutes, until the pasta is al dente, and the asparagus tips and peas are tender.
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Step 7
Once the peas and asparagus tips have been added to linguine pan, heat a little oil in a large frying pan. (If you fancy, you could add a little knob of butter at this point too, for extra richness).
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Step 8
Fry the mushrooms and chopped asparagus stalks for approx. 3 minutes, until the mushrooms have softened. Add the garlic to the mushrooms and fry for 1 more minute.
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Step 9
Drain the linguine and vegetables, reserving a little of the cooking water (this can be used to loosen the sauce later, if required).
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Step 10
Toss the linguine and vegetables back in the pan they cooked in, adding the egg mixture and stirring until the residual heat from the pan cooks the egg yolk and thicken the sauce slightly.
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Step 11
Stir in some lemon zest and half the parsley and check the seasoning. Stir in the mushroom mixture. Serve, scattered with the parsley and remaining Italian cheese.