Asparagus

Spring is here!  Which means asparagus is finally coming into season, so we are trying to eat it as often as possible until it goes back out of season, which isn't a very long time.  The other night we made the recipe below, and sorry I didn't take any pictures.  But trust me it is delicious. Again this recipe is taken from Smitten Kitchen.

Asparagus, Goat Cheese and Lemon Pasta
Adapted from Bon Appetit

Serves 6
1 pound spiral-shaped pasta
1 pound slender asparagus spears, trimmed, cut into 1- to 1 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon plus more for garnish ( I actually didn't have any of this but I just added some other seasonings and garlic)
1 5- to 5 1/2-ounce log soft fresh goat cheese (the pre-crumbled stuff will not melt as well)
Fresh lemon juice to taste (optional)
Crushed Red Pepper flakes to taste

Cook your pasta in a large pot of well-salted water until it is almost tender, or about three minutes shy of what the package suggests. Add asparagus and cook until firm-tender, another two to three minutes. Drain both pasta and asparagus together, reserving one cup of pasta water.
Meanwhile, combine olive oil, lemon peel, tarragon and cheese in a large bowl, breaking up the goat cheese as you put it in. Add hot pasta and asparagus to bowl, along with a couple slashes of the pasta water. Toss until smoothly combined, adding more pasta water if needed. Season genersously with salt and pepper, and lemon juice if you feel it needs a little extra kick. (We did.)
 
Enjoy.