Pasta with asparagus and capers

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 200 g rigatoni or other small pasta
• 500 g asparagus
• Sea salt, coarse
• Pepper, freshly ground
• olive oil
• 30 g capers
• 3 basil leaves
• e.g. cheese, Italian hard cheese, grated or sunflower seeds

Instructions

Working time approx. 10 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 13 minutes; Total time approx. 23 minutes

Pasta enjoyment for asparagus season

Peel the asparagus from below the tips using a vegetable peeler. Trim the heads and woody ends, set the heads aside, and slice the stalks diagonally into approximately 4 cm long pieces. Cut the basil leaves into strips. Bring the pasta water to the boil. Heat a little olive oil in a pan, add the asparagus spears (not the heads), sprinkle with coarse sea salt, and cover. Sauté the asparagus for 5 minutes over high heat, tossing the pan with the lid on occasionally. After 5 minutes, add the heads, reduce the heat, and simmer for another 5 minutes. When the pasta water is boiling, add the salt and pasta, and cook according to the package instructions until al dente. Drain the pasta, add it to the pan with the asparagus (if the pan is too small, add everything to the pasta pot) and toss over the heat. Add the capers, heat everything up again briefly, and toss to coat. Remove pasta from the heat and season with a drizzle of raw olive oil, freshly ground pepper, and salt, if desired. Serve immediately, garnishing the plates with chopped basil and, if desired, either grated hard cheese or sunflower seeds. Serve with a green salad.