Spaghetti with green asparagus and meatballs

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 500 g minced beef
• 500 g asparagus, green
• 1 bunch parsley, flat
• 500g spaghetti
• 200 ml cream
• Cayenne pepper
• Salt
• 3 shallots
• 200 ml beef broth
• n. B. Sauce thickener, light
• 1 egg(s)
• 5 tbsp oil for frying
• dashes lemon juice
• 3 tbsp, heaped breadcrumbs

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 20 minutes; Total time approx. 40 minutes

Peel the asparagus ends, remove any woody bits, and cut into approximately two-centimeter-long pieces. Finely chop the shallots and parsley. Mix both with the ground beef, breadcrumbs, and egg, season generously with salt and cayenne pepper, and form into walnut-sized meatballs. Fry the meatballs in a pan with oil until well browned. Remove the meatballs and set aside. Deglaze the pan with the vegetable stock. Add the cream and simmer until reduced to the desired consistency, using a sauce thickener if desired. When the sauce is ready, add the meatballs back in and keep warm. While the sauce is reducing, cook the spaghetti according to the package instructions. When the spaghetti water is boiling, add the pasta, followed four minutes later by the asparagus. Drain when cooked. Mix the spaghetti, asparagus and sauce with the meatballs, add a few squeezes of lemon juice and serve.