Spaghetti with asparagus, butter and lemon

Ingredients

Serves 2

• half a large bunch asparagus (about 125g)
• 2 spring onions
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Salt
• 225g spaghetti
• 20g butter
• Finely grated zest of half an unwaxed lemon, plus 1 tbsp lemon juice

Method

Trim the end of the asparagus as you prefer: snap off the woody ends or pare away the woody parts with a potato-peeler. Cut off the tips, then cut the spears lengthways into thin strings as close in size to spaghetti as you can. Trim the spring onions, then slice the bulbs into arcs and the green parts into short lengths.

You want to coordinate the cooking so that both the vegetables, which take about 10 minutes to soften, are ready at the same time as the spaghetti, which, depending on the brand, can take anything from seven to 11 minutes, so drop the spaghetti into salted boiling water accordingly.

While the pasta is cooking, warm the oil in a large frying pan set over a medium-low heat, soften the spring onions for a minute, then add the asparagus and a pinch of salt, and cook, stirring, until it wilts; carry over a ladleful of the pasta cooking water, all cloudy with starch, to help it along – once cooked, the asparagus should be soft with just a little juice. Stir in the butter, lemon juice and zest

Drain the pasta (or lift it directly into the asparagus mix), then toss and swish vigorously for a minute or so, or until everything combines. Serve immediately, with grated parmesan for those who want it.