Asparagus-Feta Pasta

Updated Oct. 11, 2023

Asparagus-Feta Pasta
Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Maggie Ruggiero.
Total Time
25 minutes
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes
Rating
4(1,019)
Notes
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A sauce of tangy feta and Greek yogurt (inspired by a recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi) anchors the components of this creamy, vegetable-filled pasta, and the combination of asparagus and peas makes it especially colorful and perfect for spring. Although the textures are at their most supple when served hot or warm, this dish also works well at room temperature, served as a pasta salad.

Featured in: Asparagus Season Is Here. Make It Count With These 3 Stellar Recipes.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings
  • 8tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • 2cups plain Greek yogurt
  • 1cup frozen green peas, thawed
  • 7garlic cloves (3 finely grated or minced, 4 thinly sliced)
  • 1teaspoon kosher salt (Diamond Crystal), plus more as needed
  • 1pound short pasta, such as campanelle, shells, fusilli or orecchiette
  • ½teaspoon red-pepper flakes, plus more to taste
  • 1bunch asparagus (about 1 pound), trimmed and cut into ½-inch pieces
  • 8ounces feta, crumbled into large chunks
  • Juice of ½ lemon, plus more to taste
  • ¼cup mint leaves, torn
  • 3scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

669 calories; 33 grams fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 15 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 70 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 26 grams protein; 800 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In the bowl of a food processor or blender, combine 5 tablespoons olive oil, the yogurt, ⅔ cup peas, the grated garlic and 1 teaspoon salt. Pulse until the sauce is no longer chunky, scraping the sides with a rubber spatula. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.

  2. Step 2

    Bring a large pot of well-salted water to boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente according to the package directions. Drain.

  3. Step 3

    While the pasta is boiling, add the sliced garlic to a large skillet, along with the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil, ¼ teaspoon red-pepper flakes and a big pinch of salt, and place over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic turns golden at the edges, 2 to 5 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    Add the asparagus and remaining ⅓ cup peas to the skillet and sauté until just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. If the pan looks dry, add a tablespoon or two of water.

  5. Step 5

    After draining, add the warm pasta to the yogurt mixture in batches, stirring in between, so the sauce doesn’t curdle. Stir in the asparagus mixture, feta, remaining ¼ teaspoon red-pepper flakes and the lemon juice. Taste and add more salt, red-pepper flakes, or lemon juice if needed. Drizzle with olive oil, garnish with mint leaves and scallions, and serve warm.

Ratings

4 out of 5
1,019 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

Made this as directed - except, that the 3 cloves of garlic in the yogurt mixture made it so overwhelmingly garlicky that I left out the garlic in the asparagus mixture. Also, thought the use of salt was a bit heavy handed. Otherwise, Very tasty.

Delicious spring dish! I had everything but the scallions on hand. Omitted those but not sure I missed them. Will definitely make again. Especially loved the easy yogurt pea sauce.

This was delicious! I would maybe cut back a bit on the grated garlic. But I loved the ease of this dish. A great addition to my spring asparagus line-up.

I just made this as written and thought it was a little heavy on the sauce. Next time I would stir the sauce into the pasta instead of the pasta into the sauce. That way, one can control how much sauce is used. Also, the garlic is the dominant flavor. I would dial that back a bit as others have suggested. I think I would also cut the asparagus in bigger pieces because they seemed to get lost in the dish.

Actually, in my experience, no. Or not completely, anyway. When I've been lazy and added whole garlic cloves to my standard sized (14 cup) food processor (my mini one is what I used when chopping garlic and ginger and herbs and such), I ineveitably find unevely sized chunks of garlic (or ginger for that matter) in my end product. To prevent that, at the very least I smash it and do a rough chop on it so there's a better chance it will all come out at the desired size in the finished product.

Most Cooking commenters insist that all recipes "need" more garlic... double or triple the amount. I find it refreshing to read a comment that recommends less garlic.

Nice use of asparagus, peas & mint!. I subbed 1/2 the yogurt for a combo of mayo & 1/2 & 1/2 (use some H2O if calories are a concern). Some sesame nuts on top. Like it!

excellent bright flavored dish! I'm not a frozen pea fan so substitued edamame.

For 2 people: 1/2 pasta and asparagus quantities; 1 cup of yogurt, reduced feta to 1/3 cup (all other ingredients the same unless you like less garlic), added a handful of spinach to pea/yogurt mix as well as 1/2 lemon, juice and lemon zest; thinned with veg stock. Deglazed with white wine before adding asparagus and peas (also cooked white parts of scallions, leaving green parts for garnish). Used meyer lemon olive oil for the sauce and to cook vegetables. Sauce leftover for next meal! Yum...

Good dish. But I actually found this to be too feta-forward (and I used much less than what was called for). I felt like it masked the other flavors. Next time, I might omit it altogether.

In that case, someone would be asking for more precise measurements. As written, it's not rocket science.

Make slightly more than half the sauce. Double at least the peas. Cut back slightly on garlic.

I made it as written. I zested the lemon into the yogurt mix and it add a little bit more lemony flavor. Would make it again for sure.

This dish was AMAZING, but I did edit in a few places. I was making for two families, so I used 1.5 lbs of pasta BUT kept the sauce amount the same and only used garlic in the sauce mixture (and not in the skillet per other's advice). I tripled the peas and doubled the asparagus, cut up the onion end of the scallions for the sauté along with 2 TSP (not 1/2) of red pepper and salt! For the garnish, I didn't add any more red pepper, but used a lot of mint and lemon juice! YUM!

As many noted, can do with less garlic, as it overpowers the other flavors but I liked it garlic strong as well. Those could be two separate dishes - the yoghurt-pea-sauce and asparagus/feta. Its great and quite opulent together but one of the two feta or yoghurt with the asparagus is probably fine. I didn't have mind and will definitely try that. I also feel subbing the pea sauce w Frankfurt Green Sauce, or a variety of it, might be great as well. Very nice dish that allows for creativity.

Made a few changes: garlic scapes sliced thin for the garlic, plain yogurt for Greek, fresh mozzarella for feta,and tarragon for mint, skipped the scallions. It all worked well but I think the feta would have been better for a salty taste.

Cut the garlic in half!

Too much tang. Less lemon? Would be good with pancetta

I made as directed except dialed back the garlic as many noted. FAB! I’d make it for an informal dinner with friends as well as a mid-week dinner. I suspect it could be fancied up by making it with fiddleheads and ramps.

I concur with fellow cooks who cut down on amounts of yogurt (I used about 2/3 c.), the garlic (I used 3 cloves), and feta (about 1/4 c.). I skipped the peas to focus on the asparagus, and I had no mint so subbed basil. The result was a light, fresh, spring like supper.

Too much yogurt and garlic. I reduced both by half, added Tbs white balsamic and doubled lemon. Had fresh coriander, so added that and 2 tsp dried mint. Parsley and dried mint might be better but this is what I had. And cut up asparagus while pasta was cooking and just added that to the water for the last minute. Stayed crunchier which I thought good. Would also in future replace half the pasta with chickpeas or white beans and go up to 1 1/2 c of peas (half in blender, half in mix with sauce)

I thought it was an awful mess. Very unappealing and not terribly tasty. Threw the leftovers away.

I really liked this dish. I agree that it’s very garlicky and saucy, despite having used less garlic myself. Next time, I would reduce the yogurt to 1.5 cups, garlic to 4 cloves max, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 3-4 tablespoons EVOO, and 4-6 oz of feta. Made an air fry salmon with it and didn’t have mint so used parsley. Would definitely make again. I like the idea of adding the sauce to the pasta to control the amount of sauciness.

Loved this pasta recipe. Perfect spring dish with less guilt. Lemony, minty, and fresh! I had a zucchini lying around which I sliced and cooked with asparagus and peas. It added a little more heft to the veggies. Did not change a thing and it came out perfect. Others at home loved it too.

I cannot say enough about how amazing the flavors meld in this dish! Yes, it's a little work to get it together, since I don't have support staff from Martha Stewart, but it is really delicious. I was missing a little protein, so I fried a chicken breast in some olive oil first in a cast iron skillet, and added it diced to serve. Take care to not add too much salt. There is plenty in the ingredients.

I agree with other comments that this is very garlicky! I would reduce the raw garlic or even omit it. Otherwise it is very tasty. I was sceptical about the yogurt sauce’s texture but 11% Greek yogurt was creamy and smooth. Don’t skimp on the mint.

Delicious. Perfect spring pasta salad.

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