Asparagus pasta with the Thermomix® uses a technique many people overlook: the cooking liquor from Varoma steaming becomes the base for the sauce. 400 g of liquid from the mixing bowl, enriched with salt, sugar and butter, binds the cream sauce and carries the asparagus flavour. What normally goes down the drain makes the difference between a watery sauce and a well-rounded one.
We cook this dish at least twice a week from March to June. The reason is the parallel preparation: while the asparagus steams in the Varoma for 18 minutes, the pasta cooks on the hob. The sauce is then built in the empty mixing bowl. No extra pot for the sauce, no separate asparagus cooking water. One machine, three functions.
Ham and Cream Pasta with Asparagus, Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 15 ✓
- 200 g white asparagus
- 400 g green asparagus
- 1000 g water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 20 g butter
- 400 g Piccolini Mini Farfalle
- 1 onion
- 150 g cooked ham
- 20 g sunflower oil
- 15 g flour
- 200 g double cream
- 1 tsp vegetable stock powder
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- 1/2 bunch chives
Instructions 0 / 9
-
1
Prepare the asparagus.
Wash the asparagus, trim the ends and peel the white asparagus. Peel the green asparagus from the bottom halfway up if needed. Cut the asparagus into pieces roughly 3 cm long and place in the steaming basket.
-
2
Cook the asparagus.
Add water, salt, sugar and butter to the mixing bowl, insert the steaming basket and cook for 18 min / Varoma / speed 1.
-
3
Cook the pasta.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in plenty of salted water according to the packet instructions and keep warm.
-
4
Keep pasta and asparagus warm.
Remove the steaming basket. Mix the asparagus into the pasta. Collect 400 g of asparagus cooking liquor from the mixing bowl and empty the mixing bowl. Keep the pasta and asparagus warm.
-
5
Chop the onion.
Peel the onion, halve it, place it in the mixing bowl and chop for 5 sec / speed 5, then push down with the spatula.
-
6
Sweat the sauce ingredients.
Cut the ham into dice, add to the mixing bowl with the oil and cook for 3 min / Varoma / reverse direction / speed 1.
-
7
Heat the sauce.
Add the flour, double cream, stock powder, cayenne pepper and asparagus cooking liquor to the mixing bowl, mix for 4 sec / reverse direction / speed 4, then heat for 10 min / 90°C / reverse direction / speed 1.
-
8
Slice the chives.
Meanwhile, wash the chives, shake dry and cut into rings.
-
9
Serve the asparagus pasta.
Pour the sauce over the asparagus pasta, fold together and serve garnished with chive rings.
Tip: You can also make this recipe with just one type of asparagus. White asparagus has a more intense flavour. Green asparagus brings a fresh colour to the dish.
Nutrition per serving
Why Varoma steaming instead of cooking in the mixing bowl
The asparagus is steamed in the Varoma, not broken up in boiling water. There are two reasons for this: the spears stay firm to the bite and lose less flavour to the cooking liquor. Cooking in the mixing bowl would break the spears through the movement of the blades. In the steaming basket they sit undisturbed while the steam circulates evenly around them.
The 18 minutes at Varoma and speed 1 apply to asparagus pieces roughly 3 cm long. Longer pieces need 2 to 3 minutes more. Very thin green asparagus (under 1 cm in diameter) is done after 15 minutes. Checking at 15 minutes prevents mushy asparagus.
Frozen asparagus works differently
Frozen asparagus should not be thawed before cooking. Place it straight from frozen into the steaming basket, then use 20 minutes at Varoma instead of 18. Frozen asparagus releases more water than fresh, so the cooking liquor will be thinner. For the sauce, use only 300 g of cooking liquor instead of 400 g, otherwise it will be too runny.
Frozen white asparagus tends to go softer than frozen green asparagus. Green has firmer fibres that survive freezing better. If you only have frozen white asparagus, reduce the cooking time to 16 minutes and check.
Roux without lumps
The sauce starts with a classic roux: 15 g of flour is toasted in the oil for 3 minutes at Varoma in reverse direction at speed 1. Reverse direction prevents the ham pieces from being chopped up. The 3 minutes are needed so the flour loses its raw taste and does not end up tasting of paste later.
After toasting, the double cream and asparagus cooking liquor go into the mixing bowl together. 4 seconds at reverse direction, speed 4 dissolves the roux before heating begins. If you add the cream without mixing first, flour lumps form that will not smooth out even with prolonged heating.
Piccolini farfalle are not compulsory
This recipe uses mini farfalle because the small butterfly shapes hold the sauce well. Any short pasta works though: penne, rigatoni, fusilli. Long pasta such as spaghetti or linguine does not work well because the asparagus pieces get lost between the strands.
Wholemeal pasta makes the sauce look darker and adds a nutty flavour. That masks the delicate asparagus taste. If you do use wholemeal, pair it with green asparagus only, which has a stronger flavour than white.
Cooked ham vs. bacon
The original recipe uses cooked ham because it is mild and does not overpower the asparagus. Bacon works too, but makes the sauce saltier and smokier. If you use bacon, leave out the vegetable stock powder entirely and reduce the salt in the asparagus water to half a teaspoon.
Bacon also gets crispier than cooked ham. For crispy bacon, fry the diced pieces in a separate pan over high heat for 5 minutes, then add to the finished sauce. In the Thermomix® at 3 minutes Varoma, bacon pieces will only soften, not crisp up.
How much cayenne pepper
One pinch of cayenne pepper is enough. More than two pinches makes the sauce hot rather than spiced. Cayenne adds warmth that balances the slightly sweet asparagus flavour. Black pepper does not work as well here as it adds heat but not the fruity notes of cayenne.
If children are eating, leave the cayenne out entirely. The sauce tastes well-rounded without it, just a little milder.
Sauce too thin or too thick
The sauce thickens as it heats to 90 degrees Celsius. If it is still too thin after 10 minutes, heat for a further 3 minutes at 90°C, reverse direction, speed 1. The flour needs time to swell. Do not raise the temperature, as this can cause the sauce to split.
If the sauce is too thick, thin it with 50 to 100 g of extra asparagus cooking liquor. Keep the liquor warm while the asparagus cooks so you have some in reserve. Cold liquor drops the sauce temperature too much.
Storing and reheating
The finished dish keeps for 2 days in the fridge. The pasta continues to absorb the sauce, so the dish will be drier when reheated. Stir in 100 ml of double cream or milk before reheating to make the sauce creamy again.
Reheat in the microwave at 600 watts for 3 minutes, stirring halfway through. In the Thermomix®: 5 minutes at 80°C, reverse direction, speed 1. Freezing does not work well as the sauce separates when thawed.
Goes well with: Parmesan and baguette.
More asparagus recipes are in our asparagus collection. You will also find a basic pasta dough recipe and further pasta variations there.
