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Tuscan pici pasta all'etrusca with asparagus
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5 from 4 votes

Tuscan pici pasta all'etrusca with roasted asparagus and cherry tomatoes

A delicious pesto pasta type recipe from Tuscany with roasted fresh asparagus and cherry tomatoes
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Central Italy, Italian, Tuscany
Keyword: pasta all'etrusca
Servings: 4
Calories: 499kcal
Author: Jacqui

Ingredients

  • 400 g pici pasta
  • 2 eggs hard boiled and peeled
  • 3 garlic cloves peeled
  • 1 handful fresh basil
  • 1 handful fresh parsley
  • ½ handful fresh mint
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • 50 g pecorino grated

For roasted asparagus and tomatoes

  • 500 g green asparagus
  • 20 cherry tomatoes ( I used pacchino)
  • 3 garlic cloves peeled
  • extra virgin olive oil.

Instructions

  • Hard boil the eggs, cool them in cold water and peel them. Cut the peeled eggs in half lengthwise. Remove one yolk and keep it aside.
  • Boil some water in a saucepan for the pasta. Add salt once it starts to boil and bring to the boil again.
  • Add the pici to the boiling water and cook al dente according to the instructions on the packet. Dried pici can take up to 18 minutes to cook. Save some of the cooking water before draining the pasta.
  • Meanwhile, put the peeled garlic cloves, the egg whites and one yolk, the basil, parsley and mint leaves, grated pecorino cheese and a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil in a blender. Pulse a few times until the ingredients form a rough sauce. You may need to add more olive oil if it’s too dry. 
  • Add some ground pepper and salt to taste.
  • Put the egg and herb mixture in a large bowl and add a little of the pasta cooking water to make it looser. 
  • Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce. Mix well and serve immediately with the remaining egg yolk crumbled on top and a sprinkling of pecorino and parsley.

Roasting asparagus and cherry tomatoes

  • Wash the asparagus and tomatoes. Cut off the hard part at the bottom of the asparagus stalk. This is best done by bending the stalk until it breaks. It normally breaks in the right place! 
  • Put the veggies in an oven dish with 3 whole peeled garlic cloves and some olive oil and roast them for about 20 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 180°.  (this can be done while the pasta is cooking)
  • Serve with the Tuscan pici pasta all'etrusca.

Notes

If you can’t find pici and don’t want to make it yourself, this recipe can be made with other types of long pasta. I would suggest a thick spaghetti or bigoli, or perhaps even linguine.

Nutrition

Calories: 499kcal | Carbohydrates: 85g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 95mg | Sodium: 201mg | Potassium: 730mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1664IU | Vitamin C: 29mg | Calcium: 217mg | Iron: 5mg