variations on a theme: spring pasta with peas and asparagus

I just made a pasta with peas recently, but this is a lighter version. No cream sauce - but added asparagus, mushrooms, parsley, pine nuts... It tastes so fresh and spring-like. And I loved how the conchiglie pasta held the pine nuts and peas inside. Yum. I think it would also be good cold as a pasta salad for lunch. Don't skip the toasted pine nuts, and don't skip toasting them. It's an extra pan and an extra step, but they are soo good!

for two hearty portions:
1/3 lb conchiglie pasta - or shells - you want it to catch the peas and pine nuts.
2 shallots
1/2 lb asparagus, woody ends snapped off and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup mushrooms, cut into quarters or slices
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup fresh or frozen peas
1/3 cup parmesan
1 tsp lemon zest
chopped parsley (and/or other herbs you have around: mint, tarragon, chives)
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
salt, pepper, red pepper flakes

Cook the pasta according to the package directions, minus 2 minutes. Drain and reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water.
Saute the shallots, then add garlic, and asparagus, then mushrooms, and frozen peas - waiting a few minutes between each addition. Then add all this into the pot with the drained pasta, plus 1/2 cup pasta liquid. Add lemon zest, herbs, toasted pine nuts, red pepper flakes. Cook everything together. Garnish with a heap of parmesan, and a drizzle of olive oil if you like.

stuffed peppers with chard-shallot quinoa and andouille sausage

This was inspired by the beautiful swiss chard we got from our CSA on Friday, plus stuff we had in the pantry. I first made a quinoa with caramelized shallots and chard, added some toasted pine nuts (and andouille chicken sausage - but would be good as a vegetarian version as well). Then I filled some red bell peppers, topped with parmesan and put them under the broiler until brown and bubbly. Yum yum.

Tips: Cook the quinoa in some stock for extra flavor (1:2 ratio), and pre-boil the bell pepper 4-6 minutes so it's partially cooked when you put it in the oven. Make sure you keep a close eye on it when it's under the broiler - when it starts to brown it goes very quickly!