Pretty English: Cream Teas & Asparagus

Yesterday, I made a super salad using one of the ingredients of the UK season: asparagus - the vegetable that can party all night and still look and feel fresh the next day (but only until the end of July). Something else I had this bank holiday weekend was another one of my favourite UK based things of all time, and something which probably cancelled out all the goodness of the salad: a cream tea. I had my first cream tea when I was 8 in Cornwall, and have basically required it in my life ever since. It takes several forms, uses several recipes and has caused several arguments, but as long as I can consume one several times a year, I am content.

There were a few things amiss with this bank holiday cream tea. The first is that it was intended to be a picnic, but, being a traditional English bank holiday weekend, the skies turned grey and the rain tumbled down in force - honestly with a kind of 'I'm slapping you in the face' force. The other thing was that the local supermarket we went to did not have any clotted cream; for me this is an essential part of this quintessential treat and makes me feel pretty ashamed to not use it. We settled for an extra thick double cream, which obviously was not quite the same, but did play a part in today's dinner.

My Asparagus & Pasta Bake was literally a concoction of leftover bits and store cupboard residents. I did not go out to buy anything to make this, and our slightly failed cream tea was part of the reason and even inspiration for it. The blasphemous double cream helped to make the sauce, and yesterday's asparagus obviously formed the, erm, asparagus. And I can honestly tell you, it was a delicious demonstration of wasting not, wanting not.

Asparagus & Pasta Bake

1) Boil a pan of salted water and add the pasta. Simmer and cook - usually about 12 mins

2) In a frying pan, heat some oil and add the asparagus and garlic. Stirfry and add the butterbeans and chilli flakes. Give it a stir and let it crisp and heat for a few minutes. Then drain the pasta, and stir through the asparagus mix. Squeeze the lemon over your pasta and mix it all in with a good dose of salt and pepper.

3) Make the sauce. Over a low heat, add the cream, the mustard and the cheese. Allow to melt slowly and keep stirring - you don't want anything to curdle. Add a good slug of balsamic and mix well.

4) Pour your pasta into an ovenproof dish and pour over the sauce. Top with a sprinkle of paprika, some torn up rocket leaves (they will go lovely and crispy in the oven), and as with all good pasta bakes (or even non-pasta bakes), another generous grating of cheese.

5) Pop in the oven for about 10mins on 175C. It will probably differ per oven, but so long as you have a nice crispy top.

The great thing about this is that usually, a pasta bake is something that feels immense and hearty, and so maybe less suitable for the pre-summer months. The asparagus, lemon and white beans in this, plus the non-huge quantity of sauce, makes it feel a lot lighter, and a little celebration of the English spring. I did say asparagus like to party, after all. And no one can settle for a failed cream tea. If yours goes awry for any reason - whether that's down to rain, or cream, or anything else - rectify it by making this bake. It will bring some balance back to your life!

Serves: three.
Took: 25 mins - 12 for the pasta to cook, and then another 10 for it to sit in the oven, plus a few prep minutes either side
Things that went wrong: only the cream tea. Its successor was a great success!