Farfalline with Asparagus, Tomatoes, Chicken Broth, Saffron, Garlic Confit, and Fontinella

This is a continuation of a previous post regarding garlic confit...here's an example of a recipe in which I used it. I made this for staff lunch at work yesterday. At first glance this may look complicated but it is really very simple...and really delicious. Other than the chicken broth this recipe is meatless but it would go really well with seafood or poultry. This is also a restaurant-quality recipe that can be made in your home kitchen for a fraction of the cost. If I were only allowed one word to describe this dish it would be: Flavor (and the accompanying sound would be: Mmmm...)

Farfalline with Asparagus, Tomatoes, Chicken Broth, Saffron, Garlic Confit, and Fontinella

Makes about 4 servings.

½ pound farfalline

1 cup chicken broth

1 pinch saffron

4 tablespoons olive oil

½ onion, diced

4 cloves garlic confit

2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced

1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 cup shredded Fontinella cheese

Cook the pasta al dente in plenty of salted boiling water, then drain it and set aside. Bring the chicken broth to a boil, add the saffron, remove it from the heat and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook it for a couple minutes, then add the garlic confit, mashing the garlic with the back of a spoon. Add the tomatoes and then the saffron- chicken broth. Bring to a boil then lower to a simmer. Simmer the broth for a couple minutes, then add the asparagus and salt. Stir and cook the asparagus for a couple minutes, until just cooked, then stir in the pasta. Gently stir the pasta to coat and reheat it (if too much broth has evaporated add more). Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the cheese, gently folding and tossing it to coat evenly.

Urban Simplicity.