Easy Italian Mac

Sitting in the laundromat the other night waiting for a month's worth of laundry to dry, I was flipping through a Better Homes and Garden and found this recipe. Now, I'm usually a pretty straight-laced kid, but I - carefully - tore the recipe out of the magazine and slipped it into my purse. I'm not sure what's worse, that I'm a thief or that I'm stealing recipes.. It was worth the thievery though. Quite worth it. The peas really make the dish, which is surprising to me because I still seem to have a 5 year old's idea of peas. Love them though. Nice sweet vegetable goodies.

OH! Shopping for the groceries for dinner tonight, I discovered my local store does now carry mascarpone and gruyere and other tasty things I couldn't previously find. YAY!

Easy Italian Mac:
8 oz bowtie pasta
1 fennel bulb, trimmed and chopped into 1 inch strips
8 oz asparagus spears, woody portions removed and cut into 1 inch strips
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup mascarpone
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup finely shredded Romano
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley (I omitted this)

Cook the pasta. Reserve 1/2 cup of the water, then drain. Set pasta aside.
In a large skillet, melt butter and olive oil. Add asparagus and fennel, stirring occasionally. Cook 5-7 minutes or until nearly tender. Add garlic and cook for an additional minute.


Add pasta, mascarpone, and reserved pasta water to skillet. Stir well. Add remaining cheese and peas. Season with salt and pepper. Stir well.




I initially planned to serve this with grilled chicken strips, but decided to surprise hubby and serve it with scallops. Living in the midwest, I had to use frozen ones, but oh well. I just pan seared them after lightly salting and peppering them. They were nice and sweet; hubby said they were cooked just right.

We have plenty of leftovers, which means I have tasty lunch for work tomorrow. This dish is nice because it has a very definite cheesy taste, but it isn't overwhelming. Nothing is coated in sauce, and the veggies give it a nice, crisp flavor. We both really enjoyed it.