Fettuccine with Asparagus and Lemon

So a few years ago, my mom bought me this book: Teens Cook Baking. It was written by two sisters, and it is full of tons of delicious recipes. I loved it so much that my mom got me another book by the same authors: College Vegetarian Cooking. It is fantastic. It's got tons of recipes that are delicious, but made with cheap and easy-to-get ingredients: perfect for the broke college student. When I go to college next year, this is definitely coming with me. A few weeks ago, I made recipes from this book for dinner for a week straight, and they were all delicious. The best part was that even my carnivore brother and dad liked everything I made (and only supplemented the meals with meat a few times!).
One of the recipes that I discovered during that week was this one: fettuccine with asparagus and lemon. It's super easy and only has a few ingredients, but it's really yummy. It's a bit like fettuccine alfredo, but much lighter and healthier. You can prepare the sauce during the time it takes to cook the pasta, so it's great when you don't have a lot of time to cook.

Basically, you boil a big pot of salted water for your pasta. Follow the directions on the box and drain when the pasta is al dente.

Meanwhile, wash and prep your asparagus, then cut it into 1" pieces and boil in a saucepan with 1/2" of water until it is barely tender, then drain it and set aside.

Grate 1 T of the lemon peel, and squeeze 2 T of juice from the lemon.

Whisk together the egg and milk in a large sauce pan. Cook over medium until very warm, but do not let it boil.

Remove from heat and stir in the Parmesan cheese, apsaragus, and lemon zest and juice. 

Add the fettuccine and toss until completely coated. Make sure to drain the noodles and asparagus extremely well, so that the sauce doesn't get watered down too much. Season with salt and pepper and top with more Parmesan and then serve. 

The leftovers are great cold. I brought some to school for lunch and it was great :). 

Here's the recipe:

Fettuccine with Asparagus and Lemon

Ingredients:

1 lb. uncooked fettuccine

1 lb. asparagus

1 lemon

1 egg

1 cup milk

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (plus extra for sprinkling)

Salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. Cook the fettuccine according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, break the tough ends off the asparagus and discard (see veggie broth). Cut the asparagus into 1 inch pieces. Place in a saucepan with about 1/2 inch of water, and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes, or until barely tender. Drain and set aside.
3. Finely grate 1 T of the lemon peel. Squeeze 2 T of the juice from the lemon.
4. Whisk together the egg and milk in a large saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, or until very warm. Do not let it boil.
5. Remove from the heat, add the Parmesan cheese, asparagus, lemon zest, and lemon juice, and stir until combined. Add the fettuccine and toss until completely coated (make sure asparagus and fettuccine are well drained, so the sauce does not get watered down).
6. Season with salt and pepper and top with more Parmesan cheese.
7. Eat.

Source: College Vegetarian Cooking