Penne with Roasted Asparagus and Balsamic Butter

Ingredients
1 pound fresh asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into pieces roughly the same length as penne
1 tablespoon olive oil
³⁄₄ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₂ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¹⁄₂ cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 pound penne pasta
4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
¹⁄₃ cup Parmesan cheese, grated or shredded

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 400*F.  Bring large pot salted water to boil and cook pasta until al dente.  Drain well and return pasta to pot. 

2. Toss asparagus with oil, ¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt and ¹⁄₄ teaspoon pepper.  Spread pieces on baking sheet and roast until tender, about 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and set aside. 

3. Meanwhile, simmer vinegar in small saucepan over medium heat until vinegar is reduced to about 3 tablespoons, about 5 to 10 minutes.  Stir in brown sugar and remaining ¹⁄₄ teaspoon pepper.  Remove from heat. 

4. Stir vinegar sauce, butter, Parmesan cheese, remaining salt, and asparagus into pasta and toss well to combine and melt butter. 

Comments
This recipe is from Mel’s Kitchen Café and wow, it was great!  Roasted asparagus is super delicious and it went so well in this pasta dish with balsamic sauce.  I think that I might omit the brown sugar next time, since it was really unnecessary with a good quality balsamic vinegar that already has enough sweetness on its own.  This is tasty stuff, you should make it.

Shown here with a simply grilled t-bone steak.

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