Cooking Instructions
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Step 1
In a medium sauce pan, boil 2 cups of water. Add
Asparagus (225 g)
and cook for 3-4 minutes until crisp tender. While asparagus blanches, fill a medium-sized bowl with ice and water. With a slotted spoon or spider, transfer blanched asparagus to the ice bath and plunge it into the ice water to stop the cooking.
Step 2
Fill a 3 quart saucepan with water and a pinch of salt. Heat to boiling. Add shells and cook until al dente according to package directions.
Step 3
Meanwhile, In a large skillet, heat
Olive Oil (15 mL)
over medium high heat. Add
Button Mushrooms (225 g)
and cook until lightly browned 3-5 minutes. Transfer mushrooms to a bowl. Liquid will collect from the mushrooms as it sits, be sure to drain it off before adding mushrooms to the final dish.
Step 4
Add
Butter (30 g)
and
Yellow Onion (1)
to the pan and saute until the onion is softened.
Step 5
Stir in
All-Purpose Flour (10 g)
until everything is well combined and no dry bits of flour remain. Cook and stir for one minute until bubbly.
Step 6
Add
Vegetable Broth (360 mL)
a little at a time to the flour mixutre, stirring and scraping the pan constantly. Cook until mixture begins to thicken and takes on the consistency of a sauce. Stir in
Half and Half (60 mL)
and
Lemon (1)
. Season with
Salt (to taste)
and
Ground Black Pepper (to taste)
. Remove from heat.
Step 7
Drain the asparagus and pat dry with paper towels.
Step 8
Add the
Pasta Shells (225 g)
and
Parmesan Cheese (90 g)
to the sauce mixture and toss well to combine. Stir in the asparagus, mushrooms,
Sun-Dried Tomatoes (25 g)
,
Ham (150 g)
to the pasta and heat through over medium heat. Stir in the
Fresh Basil (1 g)
and
Italian Flat-Leaf Parsley (6 g)
just before serving.
Step 9
Use remaining parmesan as a garnish, served on the side.
