Ziti Pasta With a Rich Olive Oil Mushroom Tomato Sauce and Lemon Garlic Asparagus

Sometimes you need a quick dinner that feeds a group without too much work. This dish, and variations of this dish, are that for me. Bursting with summery flavors like aromatic fresh tomatoes and addictive garlic, umami from the mushrooms, and bright lemon, this dish cannot miss. For additional fiber and nutrients, I always pair a pasta with veggies, and in this case it was a crisp, flavorful lemon-garlic asparagus, gently sautéed until perfectly tender.

Ingredients:

Serves 4

Asparagus: 

1 Head of Asparagus

2 tbsp Olive Oil

Garlic to taste (I used 1-2 cloves, minced about 1 tsp) 

Lemon Juice (Juice from half a lemon and 

Lemon zest from about a quarter of a lemon

Salt to taste

Black Pepper

Pasta Sauce from scratch 

3 cups of bella mushrooms

Garlic to taste (I used about 7 cloves)

Lemon Zest from a quarter of a lemon

About 4 cups of grape tomatoes, halved

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

Salt to taste

Pasta 

4 cups of dry ziti (or the pasta of your choice

Plenty of water

Salt

Instructions

Because of how quickly asparagus cooks, this can be done at the very end of the meal. However, because I like to be economical about dishes, I used the same pan as I used for the from-scratch sauce, and therefore, the asparagus needed to go first.

Chop the woody bases of the asparagus off, wash and pat dry, then toss in a hot oiled pan. Add about ½ tbsp of garlic or more, and let simmer. Salt thoroughly to taste. As the asparagus starts to turn a bright green, add the lemon juice and zest, and remove from heat. Finally, add black pepper.

Next, prep the sauce.

In a hot oiled pan, add mushrooms and garlic and let brown. After browned to your preference, add the tomatoes, lemon zest, salt, and nutritional yeast. Let cook until tomatoes soften and get saucy.

Plate sauce and asparagus with cooked pasta of your choice, and enjoy!