Spring Pasta

Adapted from the NYT

Ingredients

• ¾ pound thin asparagus, woody ends snapped off, cut into 1" lengths
• Salt
• ¾ pound short pasta
• ½ cup fresh ricotta
• 2 Tbsp EVOO
• A generous handful of baby arugula, rinsed and dry
• Freshly ground pepper
• ⅓ cup freshly grated Parmesan
• Lemon juice, to taste

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and add a generous amount of salt. Add the asparagus. Cook pencil-thin asparagus for two minutes, or three to four minutes if stems are medium-thick. Transfer to a bowl of ice-cold water. Drain and set aside.
2. Bring the water back to a boil and add the pasta. Cook al dente, following the directions for timing on the package but checking a minute before the suggested cooking time.
3. Reserve ⅓ cup of the pasta cooking water and drain the pasta.
4. In a separate bowl, mix pasta with the olive oil and ricotta, adding pasta water to thin the sauce.
5. Add the arugula, asparagus, Parmesan, and lemon juice to the mixture. Serve hot.