This recipe from Elizabeth Minchilli calls for wild asparagus but I didn't even look for that. To my surprise, however, I was able to get the unusual pasta, sagne e pezzi from Rustichella d'Abruzzo, that she uses in the recipe. It must be something they are promoting, because Minchilli acknowledged it was a freebee from the producer (mine, btw, was NOT free) and it was prominently displayed in Cornucopia.
The recipe is fine with thin regular asparagus though I think it might be better shifting the proportions to get the taste balance right with the milder farmed vegetable -- either more asparagus or less pasta. The asparagus tips get cut up into 1-inch segments while the woody ends are boiled for 40 min in a big pot of salted water that will be used for cooking the pasta. Prep the ricotta by peeling the zest off a lemon, chopping it up as mixing it with the cheese to sit while you do the rest. Saute 1 chopped onion in olive oil for 15 min. then add the asparagus tips and a scoop of the pasta water and cook about 10 min until tender (not mushy). Drain the asparagus water, reserving the broth and throwing away the stems. Return the broth to a boil, add the pasta and cook according to instructions. When the pasta is almost finished, take a scoop of the water and add it to the ricotta mixture, stirring to make it smooth and creamy. Drain the pasta (reserving water again) and put it into pan with the asparagus tips. Toss with 2 Tbl butter, then add ricotta mixture and juice of 1 lemon and toss again, adding some pasta water if it is too dry.
The dish has a great lemony flavor. Minchilli says she doesn't serve parmesan with it because it might overpower the asparagus. I would be tempted to sprinkle some cheese over it, though, especially with the farm asparagus. The sagne e pezzi is a heavy, nutritious pasta and makes the dish a satisfying main course.
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