A light, bright pasta dish with the most tender of spring green vegies and lightly smokey pink-hued trout makes for the perfect spring lunch or dinner as the weather warms up.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 200ml creme fraiche or sour cream
• 2 bunches fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 3cm pieces
• 200g hot smoked trout, flesh picked & flaked*
• 200-250g fresh peas (buy around 500g of pods for this amount)*
• 250g farfalle pasta
• zest of 1 lemon
• juice of ½ - 1 lemon
• salt & pepper to taste

METHOD

1. Cook pasta per packet instructions and reserve some of the cooking water.
2. In a large pan, heat the olive oil on medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for just 30 seconds, till fragrant. Add the creme fraiche/sour cream and stir, then add about half a cup of pasta cooking water to loosen the sauce up. Bring to a simmer.
3. Add the asparagus, let it cook for a minute.
4. Add the trout, gently breaking it up with the spoon into bite-size pieces.
5. Add the peas, stir to distribute.
6. Add the cooked pasta and stir gently so as to distribute everything evenly. If you feel that the sauce is too thick, add a little more of the pasta water to loosen.
7. Add the lemon zest & juice, season to taste & serve immediately.

Notes:

• If you cannot find hot smoked trout, a fillet of fresh cooked trout or salmon will also work well here.
• Make sure you buy enough whole fresh pea pods, as the pods make up half or more of the total weight! Frozen peas can also be used, but fresh ones are sweeter and more tender.

Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Serves: 4

Recipe created by Matters of the Belly.