Classic Pasta Primavera – in 30 minutes!
One of the classic pasta recipes of our time, pasta primavera is made with angel hair pasta, a rich sauce of butter and cream, Parmesan, and plenty of fresh vegetables. Serve it with your favorite white wine!
Ingredients
1 heaping cup broccoli florets
4 asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into 1-inch segments
1/2 cup snow peas
1/2-pound angel hair pasta or spaghetti
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small zucchini, diced
3 Roma or other paste tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/4 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup peas, fresh or frozen
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
12 basil leaves, chopped
Kosher salt
Directions
Get a large pot of water boiling. Salt it well. It should taste like the sea. Fill a large bowl with ice water. Boil the broccoli for 1 minute.
Add the asparagus and boil another minute. Add the snow peas and boil for 30 more seconds.
Remove all the vegetables and plunge them into the ice water. Once they’re cool, drain in a colander.
If you want, you can boil your pasta in the same pot you boiled the vegetables in, or you can start over and boil new water; I use the same water.
In a large sauté pan, heat the butter over medium-high heat. When the butter is hot, add the garlic and zucchini and sauté 1 minute.
Add the diced tomatoes and sauté another 2 minutes, stirring often.
Pour in the chicken or vegetable stock and turn the heat to high to bring it to a boil.
Add the cream and toss in all the vegetables you boiled, plus the peas. Stir to combine.
Turn the heat down until the cream-chicken broth mixture is just simmering, not boiling.
Add the Parmesan cheese and stir to combine. If the sauce seems too thick—it should be pretty thick, but not gloppy—add some more chicken broth, cream or water.
If you are using spaghetti, you will want to start cooking it before you begin sautéing the garlic and zucchini. Angel hair will only need 1 to 2 minutes to cook, vermicelli or spaghetti can take 8 to 12 minutes.
As soon as the pasta is done, transfer it with tongs into the sauce and stir to combine.
Add the basil now, and taste for salt. Add salt if needed. Grind some black pepper over everything and serve immediately.
You will want a dry white wine with this, ideally a dry French white.
This recipe can be done meatless as well and is delicious – enjoy!