Italian-Style Asparagus alla Gricia-Inspired Pasta
Italian-Style Asparagus alla Gricia-Inspired Pasta — 30 mins family dinner · Spring asparagus set · Vegetarian protein. Part of a three-meal shopping base wi…
Ingredients
- 75g dried pasta
- 100g asparagus for this meal
- 55g extra asparagus for Dinner 3
- 30g frozen peas for this meal
- 35g extra peas for Dinner 3
- 35g pancetta or unsmoked bacon, optional
- 15g pecorino or parmesan
- 5ml olive or rapeseed oil
- 20g plain full-fat yoghurt, optional for child creaminess
- 75–100ml pasta cooking water
Method
- Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Do not salt the water if cooking baby or toddler portions in the same pan.
- Cook the pasta according to the packet.
- For the final 3 minutes, add the asparagus. For the final 2 minutes, add the peas.
- Scoop out a mug of pasta cooking water before draining.
- Remove the planned extra asparagus and peas for Dinner 3. Cool quickly and refrigerate.
- Remove baby and toddler portions of pasta, asparagus and peas before adding salty cheese or pancetta. Moisten with a little pasta water and yoghurt if needed.
- In a separate frying pan, cook the pancetta until crisp. Keep this for adult or older-child portions only.
- Toss the adult and older-child pasta with a splash of pasta water, grated cheese, black pepper and a little oil until glossy.
- Serve adults with crispy pancetta scattered over the top.
Storage and reheating
Cool leftovers within 2 hours. Refrigerate saved asparagus and peas for up to 48 hours. Refrigerate cooked chicken and rice mixtures for up to 48 hours; cool rice quickly and reheat thoroughly. Reheat leftovers until steaming hot throughout and only once. Pasta is best fresh; tortilla leftovers can be chilled for lunch the next day. For babies and toddlers, keep portions separate before adding salt, pancetta, pecorino, soy sauce, chilli or salty cheese.
Safety and substitutions
Pancetta, bacon and pecorino are salty, so keep baby portions separate. Squash peas for babies. Cook asparagus until tender, not stringy. Cool saved asparagus and peas for Dinner 3 within 2 hours and use within 48 hours.
Why this recipe works
30 mins family dinner · Spring asparagus set · Vegetarian protein. Part of a three-meal shopping base with household scaling.
Part of a three-meal set
Spring Asparagus Around the World — Asparagus alla gricia-style pasta, a Chinese-inspired chicken broccoli rice bowl, and a Spanish-style leftover asparagus potato tortilla.
Updated 2026-07-20