Shaved Asparagus, Zucchini and Spaghetti

I reached a point last night at dinner with friends, where we skipped the asparagus on the menu.  We were having a lovely dinner at Bar Jules, anxious to sample just about everything, but happy to pass on the asparagus.  We had been gorging on it now for a few months, and the corn soup was much more enticing.

But if you have a bundle still on hand, or haven’t quite tired of it yet, this pasta is the perfect segue from spring to summer.  I read about the idea first on The Kitchen Sink, a jumble of barely cooked shaved asparagus tossed with al dente bucatini and topped with crispy garlicky breadcrumbs.  For obvious reasons, that combination stuck with me.

So on a quiet Friday night with B out for a work event, I made a batch for myself – which was perfect to curl up with a few episodes of Homeland, and equally good as a bracing bite early in the morning before heading out for the day’s adventures.

I used the original recipe as a base, but adding shaved zucchini and summer squash to the asparagus (and helping the spring-to-summer transition) and whole-wheat spaghetti in place of the bucatini.  I also swapped the ramps I had on hand for the garlic – the whites in with the veg and the leaves in with the toasted breadcrumbs (or panko, in my place/pantry).  I loved it with the changes, but imagine it would be pretty great as is.

One thing is for sure, lemony-garlic breadcrumbs need to top many more things … tomatoes, we’re looking at you!