Spring Chive Linguine

Chives have a way of just appearing in the garden. When everything else is brown, their little green spikes are bent on taking over. Tufts of them show up practically by the hour.

So what to do with the most fragile tasting member of the onion family? When I have about 4 cups of them, I’ll do this classic.

The idea here is that you keep that bright green fresh chive flavor by barely tossing them with the pasta and serving it right away.

Ingredients

• 1 pound linguine pasta 

• 5 quarts of salted water boiling in a 6-quart pot 

• 1/2 cup pasta water 

• 3 to 4 tablespoons unsalted butter 

• 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese 

• Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste 

• 4 lightly packed cups snipped chives 

Procedure

1. Have a large serving bowl handy. Cook the pasta until slightly firm to the bite. Scoop up the pasta water and put it in the bowl. Drain the pasta. Add it to the bowl and toss.

2. Toss in the cheese and butter at once, so that the butter barely melts. Taste for salt and pepper. Then add the chives and serve immediately to get the fresh taste of the uncooked chives.