Asparagus and Mushrooms in Lemon Thyme Butter

Back in Room 108 after spring break. The kids came back the way kids always do after a break: a little taller, a little different in the eyes, like they have processed something over the pause. Marcus came in with new words on his device — he had apparently been practicing over break, based on what his mother told Carla. Rosa came in and went directly to the sensory corner for about ten minutes, then came out and sat down and said "Okay" to herself and opened her morning work. T. walked in with a library book he checked out at the public library over break, tucked under his arm like it was the most ordinary thing.

Jess's birthday is April 11th. She would have been twenty-four. Two months ago I turned twenty-four and now she will have been twenty-four, permanently, since 2016. We are the same age now. We were going to be the same age for the space between our birthdays every year. This year that space includes me being in Room 108 and her being gone and both of us being twenty-four, which is a sentence I can hold now without it breaking me. I will hold it until April 11th when I light the candle and make the eggs.

Made pasta primavera this week — the spring version, with asparagus and peas and cherry tomatoes and a little cream and parmesan and fresh basil from the pot on the windowsill that has somehow survived since October. Under three dollars. Every vegetable from the Saturday market. The pasta was light and green and tasted like what spring asparagus and the kitchen window light at seven AM are supposed to taste like together.

I ate it at the kitchen table watching the street come awake on a Saturday morning. This is my twenty-fourth year. This is what it looks like: the spring vegetables, the pot of basil on the windowsill, the light coming in from the east, the book outline saved on my laptop, Room 108 waiting for Monday. Everything I have built, right here, in one apartment in Pilsen. Good morning.

The asparagus was the heart of that pasta primavera — thin stalks from the Saturday market, still cold from the morning air — and this simple preparation captures exactly what made them worth building a whole meal around. When you have spring asparagus this good, the best thing you can do is get out of its way: a hot pan, butter, lemon, fresh thyme, and mushrooms to anchor it. This is the dish that belongs beside that pot of basil on the windowsill, at that kitchen table, on a Saturday morning when everything you’ve built is right there in one place.

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 12 min | Total Time: 22 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 lb fresh asparagus, tough ends trimmed, cut into 2-inch pieces
8 oz cremini or button mushrooms, sliced
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Optional: shaved parmesan for serving

Instructions

Heat the pan. Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Let it get hot before adding any fat — about 1 minute.
Cook the mushrooms. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of the butter to the skillet. Add the sliced mushrooms in a single layer. Let them sit undisturbed for 3–4 minutes until golden on one side, then stir and cook another 2 minutes. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Transfer to a plate.
Cook the asparagus. Add the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons butter to the same skillet. Add the asparagus pieces and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, for 4–5 minutes until bright green and just tender with a slight bite.
Build the sauce. Add the garlic and thyme to the asparagus and stir for 30 seconds until fragrant. Return the mushrooms to the pan.
Finish with lemon. Remove the pan from heat. Add the lemon juice and lemon zest, toss everything together to coat, and taste for seasoning. Serve immediately, topped with shaved parmesan if desired.

Nutrition (per serving)

Asparagus and Mushrooms in Lemon Thyme Butter — The Spring Vegetable That Tastes Like a Saturday Morning in April