Pasta Primavera
This is a wonderful way to celebrate the fresh vegetables and herbs of the spring. It's a little early in the season, so we deviate somewhat from a traditional pasta primavera. We substitute some frozen, defrosted vegetables. We did not have asparagus or fresh basil on hand, which are often found in a Primavera dish. Additionally, we use a thin wavy noodle called tripolini instead of fettucine or spaghetti. We lighten a traditional recipe slightly using half and half in place of heavy cream. Originally served as part of: Pasta Primavera.
Ingredients
- 3/4 pound Tripolini pasta
- 1/4 cup frozen pine nuts
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (divided)
- 4 ounces white button mushrooms (wiped with damp towel and sliced)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 large tomato (rinsed)
- salt & pepper
- 2 cups florets broccoli (rinsed and cut into small pieces)
- 1 large green zucchini (rinsed)
- 3/4 cup frozen cut green beans (defrosted)
- 1/2 cup frozen organic green peas (Cascadian Farms) (defrosted)
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup half & half
- 1/2 cup Pecorino romano cheese (Locatelli) (grated)
- 2 tablespoons fresh italian leaf parsley (cleaned and chopped)
- red pepper flakes
Instructions
We start by pre-heating the oven to 350 degrees.
We put a large pot of water on the stove and heat it for the pasta. We spread the frozen pine nuts (we keep our pine nuts in the freezer after we open the package to keep them very fresh) on a cookie sheet in one layer. When the oven is ready, we cook them for about 5 minutes. We want them golden and fragrant.
Meanwhile, we heat 1/2 tablespoon olive oil in our dutch oven over medium heat and add the mushrooms. We saute until tender and the mushrooms have released their liquid. While the mushrooms are cooking, we chop the tomato, yielding 1 1/2 cups. We also quarter lengthwise and slice the zucchini. When the mushrooms are ready, we add salt and pepper, garlic, and half of the tomatoes to the mushrooms and cook over low heat for a minute. We remove this mushroom-tomato mixture to a bowl and take our dutch oven off the heat for a few minutes. We lightly salt the remaining raw chopped tomatoes and have them ready in a prep bowl. We also have the defrosted green beans and peas in a prep bowl, and the chopped parsley in a small bowl.
In a small pot we melt the butter over low heat. We add the half and half, heating over medium-low heat until hot, but not boiling. We turn off the heat and stir in the cheese.
The pasta water has just come to a boil, so we add some salt and the pasta, and cook until al dente. We take out about a cup of pasta water to use if needed for the sauce.
Right after we put the pasta into the pot of water, we heat the remaining olive oil in the dutch oven and add the broccoli and zucchini. We saute for a few minutes over medium heat and then add about a 1/2 cup of pasta water. A couple of minutes before the pasta is cooked, we lower the heat on the dutch oven and add the green beans and peas to the other vegetables. Next we add the cooked mushroom mixture and some more salt and pepper.
When the pasta is done, we drain it in a colander. We pour the pasta into the dutch oven, raise the heat to medium, and add the butter-cheese mixture, raw tomato with its liquid, and parsley. We stir to coat and then top each serving with the toasted pine nuts and some red pepper flakes.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup frozen pine nuts
- ½ tbsp olive oil
- 4 oz white button mushrooms (wiped clean and sliced)
- 1 large tomato
- 1 large zucchini
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- salt and pepper
- 3 tbsp butter
- ½ cup half-and-half
- ½ cup Pecorino Romano (Locatelli) (grated)
- ¾ lb tripolini (or another thin pasta)
- ½ tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups broccoli florets (in small pieces)
- ¾ cup frozen cut green beans (thawed)
- ½ cup frozen organic peas (Cascadian Farms) (thawed)
- 2 tbsp fresh Italian parsley (chopped)
- red pepper flakes
Instructions
Grown-up
Heat the oven to 350°F and put a large pot of water on to boil. Toast the pine nuts on a cookie sheet about 5 minutes, until golden.
Grown-up
Sauté the mushrooms in the oil in a dutch oven over medium heat until tender. Meanwhile, chop the tomato (about 1½ cups) and quarter and slice the zucchini.
Add salt, pepper, the garlic and half the tomatoes to the mushrooms and cook on low 1 minute. Scrape into a bowl and take the pot off the heat. Lightly salt the rest of the tomatoes.
Melt the butter in a small pot over low, add the half-and-half, and heat on medium-low until hot but not boiling. Turn off the heat and stir in the cheese.
Salt the boiling water and cook the pasta until al dente. Save about 1 cup of pasta water.
Right after the pasta goes in, heat the rest of the oil in the dutch oven and sauté the broccoli and zucchini a few minutes over medium. Add about ½ cup of pasta water. A couple of minutes before the pasta is done, lower the heat and add the green beans, peas, the mushroom mixture, salt and pepper.
Drain the pasta and add it to the vegetables over medium with the cheese sauce, the raw tomatoes and their juice, and the parsley. Toss and serve topped with pine nuts and pepper flakes.