If you just want the recipe, scroll down and skip the food photography lesson.

I’ve been meaning to share this recipe for a while now. It’s one of my favorites. I even photographed last year, but the photos weren’t great, and I kept putting off the post. Luckily, my job forces me to write about and/or photograph things that have been on my “need to” and “want to” lists. Since we were going to use asparagus as our “In Season” food, it was the perfect excuse to try to get some better shots of this dish.

Below is one of the photos I took last year. It’s fine for my blog, but definitely not magazine worthy. It was taken in our kitchen using only artificial (tungsten) light. I did some color correcting, but I never could get the light to look natural. The square plate (which I love) also bothered me. It was really hard to get an angle that looked good for the plate and the food, and I reminded myself to not try to use those plates for food pics again.

ISO 1250    85mm     f/1.8    1/100 sec

So, for round two, I knew I needed natural light and a round plate.

By the time I was finished cooking and plating, it was already too dark in our kitchen to get a natural light shot, so I grabbed a white dish towel and took the food out to our back porch. I really wish I had taken a pull-back shot where you could see the actual setting–the food is on top of Harper’s cooler right nest to the gas grill–it’s not beautiful! But that’s where the light was, so that’s where I set up.

Here is a shot I was happy with…

ISO 1250    85mm     f/2    1/100 sec

…until I got back to the kitchen and realized that I had forgotten to put the grated Parmesan on top! I might have cursed at that point. The light was changing every second, and I was about to lose the opportunity to have enough natural light. I added the cheese and reset the shot as quickly as I could.

Below is one of the best shots with the cheese on top. It’s fine, but you can see that the shadows are deeper and the color isn’t quite as pretty when compared to the shot above. Another thing is the weird reflection of gold light you can see on the asparagus. It’s from the motion flood light on our porch, and I didn’t notice that it had turned on (because it was getting dark). When you mix types of lighting (natural and tungsten) you can get weird results–especially when it comes to food or any type of photography where accurate color is important. Oh, well. I’m definitely still learning.

ISO 640    50mm     f/1.8    1/160 sec

The asparagus shot that we used was also shot on my porch (in a different spot at a different time of day). I replaced the blue rubber bands with jute twine for a more natural look. The bright blue would have been too striking against the greens and browns.

ISO 400    50mm     f/2    1/250 sec

I tried a lot of different angles for the asparagus and my position.

Okay, enough about photography, let’s get to the food! This recipe was originally inspired by Giada’s Fresh Fettuccine with Roasted Chicken and Broccoli Rabe recipe. I never could find Broccoli Rabe at our grocery store, so I read about its flavor and decided asparagus would be a good substitute, and I never looked back. I also like the smaller noodle-size of linguini since there isn’t a heavy sauce. The other main difference is that I usually roast the chicken myself instead of buying the rotisserie chicken.

Let me know if you try it–or the photography tips!

Linguini with Roasted Chicken and Sautéed Asparagus

Serves 4

• 1 bunch asparagus
• 1 (9-ounce) container fresh linguini pasta
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 roasted chicken breasts, sliced
• 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Add butter and 1 tablespoon of oil to a large sauté pan over medium heat. Cook asparagus until tender (about 5 minutes). Be careful to not overcook, as asparagus continues to cook when removed from the pan. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the linguini and cook until just tender, about 2 minutes. Drain, reserving ½-cup of cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, bring the broth and lemon juice to a boil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Boil until the broth reduces by half, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken and simmer just until heated through, about 2 minutes. Add the pasta, ½-cup of Parmesan, pine nuts, parsley, remaining oil, and lemon zest. Toss to coat, adding some of the reserved cooking liquid, 1/4 cup at a time, to moisten. Season the pasta with salt and pepper, to taste. Mound the pasta into the serving dish and top with sautéed asparagus. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan and serve.