A few days before a key(hole) heart operation, your food editor shares a carefree recipe for fettuccine with shrimps and asparagus spears.

This is a recipe from a few weeks back that I've been storing up to publish around my 71st birthday. But soon, an invigorated heart will be able to handle the butter in this delicious pasta dish, which also - best I admit it - has cream in it, so that's another reason it's not the best choice for some of us. If your heart is in fine fettle, plan to make this one soon.

The shrimps I used were a packet of frozen "prawn meat". The shrimps are blanched before freezing so can be put straight into your sauce when preparing this dish.

It's a quick and easy recipe, and the one ingredient in it that I may take a bite or two of ahead of this week's medical adventure is those lovely crisp asparagus spears. To health!

Tony's fettuccine with fresh asparagus and shrimps

(Serves 3-4)

Ingredients

Half a standard packet of fettuccine

3 Tbsp butter to cook the garlic, another 3 for the asparagus, and yes, another 3 for finishing the pasta sauce

1 or 2 garlic cloves, peeled and very finely chopped

100 ml dry white wine

100 ml fresh cream

12 fresh green asparagus spears...