When grandma cooked, there were no green asparagus in the kitchen
The only ones used were the white asparagus of Bassano del Grappa, firm and consistent, almost fleshy: he would boil them in large quantities, drain them, put them on a large plate and cover them with aluminum foil then leave the dish on top of the pot still steaming and full of the cooking water so as to keep them warm. So she broke some hard-boiled eggs with a fork, seasoned with oil and dipped the asparagus in this cream, sucking off the pulp and remaining with only the final piece in hand.
Asparagus was rarely used as a sauce, perhaps as a sauce for the pie, lasagna, but nothing more. And little by little my mom introduced some new ways to use them but always rather quiet and ordinary, like risotto: I used the green asparagus first in my family, and this pasta is the most recent evolution. Low glycemic index penne, oil only after cooking, lightness: is this too much innovation for my nonna? No, I think grandmother would like it too, I'll prepare it soon for her.
Wash the asparagus and with a potato peeler peel the final part, the more woody one, and remove a small piece. Cut into slices, keeping the top a little longer and intact. Fill a pan with water and bring to a boil, but not too violent: cook the asparagus for about ten minutes (by pricking them with a fork you will understand that they are cooked when they no longer offer resistance) then drain them and put them in the blender glass, preferably at immersion. Keep the asparagus tops apart. In the meantime, cook the pasta in abundant salted water. Also add the parsley, chives, fennel, parmesan, salt, pepper, cream and whisk everything until you get a cream. In a pan without adding fat, toast the pine nuts, for a few seconds, only until they turn golden brown otherwise they burn. Season the pasta with the asparagus pesto, the tips kept aside, the toasted pine nuts, the grated lemon peel and if you want a drizzle of raw oil
