Do you guys ever feel like you have about 15 million more things on your to-do list every day than you can possibly do? Yeah, that’s where I am right now. Like I mentioned earlier this week, my family and I just got home from vacation on Monday and then today, Sara and I are heading to Dallas for a speaking engagement. I literally haven’t unpacked my vacation suitcase yet, let alone packed my work suitcase. We’re feverishly putting final touches and turning in final edits on our next book. Yesterday, I literally changed out of my pajama pants into real pants (and by “real pants,” I mean yoga pants) so I could pay my daughter’s dance tuition. Right now, all I want to do is paint my front door, make yummy food, put together a baby crib, plant flowers, and take a nap, but that will have to wait until after next weekend.
I’m not complaining–I’m grateful for our opportunities, and honestly, I’d rather be busy than not busy. But simple things like dinner are also stressing me out. I’m sick of eating out, I don’t have a huge appetite, and I don’t have a lot of time on my hands, so I guess I’m kind of in the mood for fancy-ish comfort food. That’s easy. And not horrible for me. Not a terribly tall order, right? Yeah, right.
I kind of threw this together using my favorite Alfredo sauce and some fresh produce I had in my fridge. And it ended up being so so so so good. SO good. I kind of wish I’d thrown a few shrimp sauteed in the lemon olive oil, but even still, it was one of the best things I’d eaten in a long time.
To get started, break the tough ends off of a pound of asparagus and thickly slice about 3-4 cups of whole mushrooms.
Preheat your oven to 400. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and set it aside.
Using a fine grater or Microplane, zest 2 lemons (or enough to get 1 tablespoon lemon zest). Juice the 2 lemons (or enough to get about 1/4 cup of lemon juice)…
Add 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 4-5 cloves minced garlic, 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon Creole or coarse-grain mustard, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt.
Whisk the mixture together and then toss it with the mushrooms and asparagus. Spread the veggies onto the prepared baking sheet and roast it in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until the veggies are tender but not mushy. Remove from the oven and allow to stand for 5-10 minutes.
While the veggies are roasting, cook 8 ounces linguine in salted water al dente and prepare a batch of Guiltless Alfredo Sauce. After you add the Parmesan cheese, add the lemon zest. You can either portion out the pasta, sauce, and veggies into individual servings or toss it all together. Serves 6-8.
Roasted Asparagus and Mushroom Pasta in Lemon-Cream Sauce
Recipe by Our Best Bites
1 lb. asparagus, tough ends snapped off
3-4 cups whole mushrooms, thickly sliced
5-6 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1/4 cup strained lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon Creole or coarse-grain mustard
8 ounces uncooked linguine
1 recipe Guiltless Alfredo Sauce
Optional: Grilled chicken breast or sauteed shrimp
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine trimmed asparagus and sliced mushrooms. Zest the lemons (enough to get 1 tablespoon of zest) and set the zest aside.
In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and mustard. Drizzle over the veggies and toss to combine. Spread the veggies out onto the prepared baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes or until the asparagus is tender but not mushy. Remove from oven and allow to stand for 5-10 minutes.
While the veggies are roasting, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and, when the water is ready, cook pasta al dente. Prepare the Alfredo sauce. After you’ve added the cheese, add the reserved lemon zest to the sauce. When the asparagus and mushrooms are done roasting, you can either portion out the pasta, veggies, and sauce into individual servings or toss it all together. Serves 6-8.
Questions & Reviews
I really love this. I skipped the lemon zest, added green chilies, and left out the chicken. It tasted great. Make sure to follow the directions when it comes to not burning the milk.
Fantastic flavour, awesome presentation, easy peasy…….love love love!! It’s a keeper!!
This is remarkable! Most recipes I don’t make a second time, but this is a keeper! I did not put meat in mine, but served with Cornish Hens. Other than that, it was made like recipe. The lemon in the dish makes the whole thing astonishingly refreshing. Who does not like something that fantastic coming out of their kitchen?
Made this with asparagus, mushrooms, zucchini, and a red pepper. I cut thicker chunks of the veggies and they roasted up beautifully. I also tossed on some leftover grilled chicken that I’d marinated in garlic, lime juice, and pomegranate red wine vinegar. I haven’t been so happy with a meal in a while, and I was in Italy a month ago so that’s saying something. 😉 Thanks for the deliciousness!
Just made this and it was amazing! Best endorsements I can give- 1) it was fast enough that I made it after church and no one needed to eat a sandwich while waiting! 2) Two of my three kids cleaned their plates! (and the third always loads up on graham crackers in nursery, so we can’t really count her.)
I’m going back to the store for more mushrooms and asparagus tomorrow! Thanks for a fast, delicious, healthy meal!!!
Can’t wait to make this for dinner tonight, sounds delicious! And your sauce sounds amazing! thanks so much for the great recipe!
The vegetables came out just right at about 16 minutes; I had some red and green bell peppers that needed to be used so I put those in w/the mushrooms and asparagus. The consensus at my house was it was good, but “too lemony.” Next time I’ll try cutting the amount of lemon in half and try that… I also waited until I only had about 5 min of roasting time left to throw the mushrooms in there as I like mine a little more firm, sort of a meaty texture. For my boys I put in some leftover rotisserie chicken. Worked out great! I will definitely make a double batch of the “guiltless Alfredo sauce” next time so I have a REALLY quick meal! Thank you!
A nice and simple and yet tasty way to enjoy some asparagus!
holy. CRAP!! i tried this last night, and oh. my. gosh. my husband and i could NOT get over how good it was! we were seriously dying! thank you for this recipe. i am new your site but am excited to try more things from it!
I added zucchini and it was super yummy. I’ve never roasted it before. It was a little mushy and so was my asparagus, but they were close to pencil thin so I added them 5 minutes after I put the mushrooms and zucchini in. Next time, if I have skinny asparagus, I’ll wait on the zucchini and asparagus. I could not get enough of these mushrooms…super yum!!!
**Question- It says to add cheese in the third paragraph down on the recipe. I don’t see cheese in the ingredients and can’t figure out where you are putting it. It would be a great addition, is it Parmesan Reggiano? Thanks for the great idea. Making this tonight. Might just throw some fresh park on at the end.
Fresh Parm… not park.
It’s the parm in the alfredo sauce…follow the link for the recipe for the alfredo.
I made this tonight. It was so good! The guiltless alfredo sauce was amazing. My husband and I both loved it. I’m making this the next time we have company over. Thanks so much!
I think I’ve found dinner tonight but I think I will grill the asparagus…it’s our absolute favorite way to prep it now!
I have become an addict to your food and website after stealing your cookbook from my mom’s pantry (she received it as a gift and refuses to deviate from the 15 recipes that she knows). This looks so good! I have been on the hunt for Creole mustard and no luck so far. I bought spicy brown instead, will that work??
Okay, this is going to sound like the weirdest advice ever, but if you have a Walmart with a grocery department nearby, try the Walmart brand (Great Value) coarse brown mustard. It’s the most similar thing I’ve found and it’s surprisingly really good! 🙂