Pasta Primavera
Pasta Primavera is a great way highlight your favorite fresh summer veggies. Best of all, you can easily adapt this recipe to make your perfect Pasta Primavera. Grab the base ingredients and then add whatever you’re craving. Finish with some fresh herbs, lemon juice and cheese and you’ve got yourself the perfect summer dinner.
Servings: 4
Equipment
- Stove top
Ingredients
Base ingredients
- ½ pound penne, ziti, farfalle or similar pasta
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (plus some more for drizzling)
- 1 large onion, diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1 handful of fresh basil, chopped (you can sub dried if needed)
- 1 handful of parsley, coarse stems removed, chopped (you can sub dried if needed)
- zest of 1 lemon
- juice of 2 lemons
- ½ cup grated parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese
- ½ cup reserved pasta water or broth of choice (you may not use all of it)
Vegetable ideas (use whatever you have/love; I like a veggie heavy pasta, so I make mine with all of these)
- 1 carrot, peeled, halved and sliced
- 1 small head of broccoli, stems removed, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 8 asparagus spears, ends trimmed, cut into 1.5 inch pieces
- 1 red/yellow pepper, diced
- 1 medium zucchini, diced
- 1 medium yellow squash, diced
- ¼ cup of (frozen) peas
- 2 handfuls of baby spinach
- 1 large tomato, diced (or a ½ pint of cherry tomatoes, halved)
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, bring salted water to boil and cook pasta to al dente following package directions. Before draining the water, reserve a ½ cup of the pasta water (I use a ladle to transfer the water to a bowl/cup). If your pasta is cooked before your veggies are done, drain it, return it to the pot and toss with some of the reserved pasta water and or some extra virgin olive oil so that it doesn’t get sticky.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large heavy bottomed skillet. Sauté the onions until soft (about 3 minutes), then stir in garlic and sauté for two more minutes. Add your veggies, starting with the firmest ones first (carrots, broccoli, asparagus) and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add the softer veggies (peppers, zucchini, squash, peas, spinach, tomato, etc.) and season with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Cook for 5-7 minutes, until all veggies are fork tender, but not mushy, sautéing for a few extra minutes if needed. Stir in the fresh (or dried) herbs, lemon zest, lemon juice and cheese. Add the cooked pasta. Slowly start to add the reserved pasta water (or broth), stirring as you do so, until you are happy with the wetness of your pasta. Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil over the pasta and veggies and toss one last time. Taste and adjust seasoning. Best when served immediately (with some extra cheese on the side for good measure and/or a lemon wedge).
Notes
Use any mixture of veggies you want. I like lots of veggies so I literally will use almost anything I have. Start by sauté the onion and garlic; then add the firmest veggies first and the softest after a few minutes.