Pasta Primavera
Pasta Primavera is a dish that we had forgotten about for a long time, but we recently began making it again about a year ago! After going to a dinner at Parc in Philly in Rittenhouse Square with a friend who ordered the Pasta Primavera dish, I immediately came home and told my Mom we have to make our own one night soon!
Shortly there after, this dish became a go-to especially in the summer since it is such a vibrant and colorful dish with all the different vegetables! While recipes for Pasta Primavera can vary, ours uses a combination of yellow onion, celery, carrot, asparagus, red bell pepper, zucchini, parsley, and Parmigiano Reggiano! We love serving this creamy pasta with company because it really is such a beautiful dish!
To perfect this recipe, sauté the onion, celery, and carrot in a skillet in butter for approximately 5 minutes. Next add in the chopped asparagus and cook another 3 minutes. Then add the zucchini and bell pepper letting all the vegetables cook until you notice they are getting tender. Season all the vegetables in the skillet with salt and pepper. After the vegetables are all cooked, add the heavy cream and parsley and cook until the cream has thickened. Meanwhile it is time to cook your pasta in salted water. Once it is cooked, drain the pasta and save about 1 cup of the pasta water, you may need to add some of the water to the dish once combined with the vegetables and cream. Add the cooked pasta to the vegetables and sprinkle on the grated Parmigiano Reggiano. And there you have yourself a colorful spring or summer time pasta!
a. Ingredients:
½ of a small yellow onion; chopped
1 large carrot; chopped
1 celery stalk; chopped
4 tbsp of butter
10 oz of asparagus; cut into 1 inch lengths
1 red bell pepper; diced
1 medium zucchini; diced
1 ½ cups of heavy cream
5 sprigs of flat leaf parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
½ cup of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
16 oz of fettuccini
b. Directions:
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; sauté the onion, carrot, and celery for approximately 5 minutes
Add the chopped asparagus and cook for additional 3 minutes; add the zucchini and the bell pepper then continue cooking until vegetables are tender
Season generously with salt and pepper
Add the cream and parsley and cook until thickened
While the vegetables and cream are cooking; cook the pasta according to package directions
Drain the pasta, saving about 1 cup of pasta water (you may or may not need this)
Add the cooked pasta to the skillet with the vegetables and the grated Parmigiano Reggiano
