Green tagliatelle with saffron sauce

Tagliatelle verdi
e salsa allo zafferano

Green tagliatelle with saffron sauce

Clear, strong tastes and colours mark the early spring as captured in this dish of green tagliatelle with saffron sauce and fried asparagus.

Spinach and asparagus are among the first green vegetables to hit the market after a long winter of cabbage and roots. And it is a delight to pair the two with a bright yellow sauce based on saffron. This recipe for green tagliatelle with saffron sauce was with a few modifications published in the Italian version of Cucina Italiana in April 2015.

Ingredients

150 g flour 00
150 g fresh spinach
1 egg yolk
250 g asparagus
1 shallot onion
50 ml white wine
50 ml vegetable stock
1 tbsp butter
10 g saffron
1 tsp cornstarch
Olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Preparation

Blanch 100 g spinach for about 1 minute and blend it to a smooth paste.
Make a mountain of the flour pour the egg yolk in the middle and mix it with a fork while you gradually incorporate blended spinach to make a firm and elastic dough.
Wrap the pasta in cling film and let it rest for 1 hour.
Run the pasta dough through the pasta machine about ten times before you gradually decrease the width of the rollers.
When the pasta has the thickness you prefer, run it through the tagliatelle roller.
Cut the asparagus in thin slices lengthwise.
Chop the shallot onion.
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the onions for a couple of minutes before adding the asparagus.
Add salt and pepper to taste along with the white wine.
Let the wine evaporate for 1 minute and remove the frying pan from the heat.
Bring vegetable stock to the boil in a small casserole along with butter, saffron and the remaining liquid from the asparagus.
Stir in cornstarch to adjust the thickness of the sauce.
Boil the tagliatelle in salted water for 3 minutes until they are al dente.
Mix the green tagliatelle with saffron sauce and fried asparagus and serve with a sprinkling of fresh spinach leaves.