Meatless Monday! Pasta with Asparagus

I have marked so many recipes to try from this month's Cooking Light Magazine! This dish is loosely based on this recipe: Pasta with Asparagus, Pancetta, and Pine Nuts. Of course I omitted the pancetta, and I used pecans instead of pine nuts because that's all I had on hand.

It was very delicious. The lemony sauce would probably even make whole wheat pasta taste good :-)

Ingredients

• 8 ounces uncooked cavatappi pasta
• 1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut diagonally into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 3 tablespoons pine nuts (or whatever)
  
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) crumbled Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Preparation

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; add asparagus to pan during last 3 minutes of cooking. Drain. Sprinkle pasta mixture with garlic; return to pan, and toss well.

2. Arrange [pine] nuts in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan. Bake at 400° for 3 minutes or until golden and fragrant, stirring occasionally. Place in a small bowl.

3. Combine lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle over pasta mixture; toss well to coat. Sprinkle with [pine] nuts and cheese.