At least once a week my family has a meatless meal. Produce is getting cheaper and it’s best to buy what’s in season. So spring veggies like carrots, asparagus, onions and more are great to put in your recipes around this time. Pasta is easy, so I decided to make a pasta primavera recipe which is basically pasta with veggies. It is typically made with peas, carrots and broccoli but I got a lot of produce from the farmer’s market and wanted to make it hearty.
Ingredients for Pasta Primavera Recipe
The ingredients for my pasta primavera recipe includes a lot of fresh vegetables. I used broccoli, asparagus, sweet peppers, squash and carrots. Only season them with Italian seasoning and olive oil. I also used fresh garlic and shallots to give extra flavor. Add in salt and pepper during the cooking process. Because I like a colorful dish, I used tricolor Rotini pasta. Not pictured are the Parmesan cheese and the pasta water used to make a somewhat light pasta sauce.
Process of Making Pasta Primavera Recipe
After cutting up the vegetables I sauteed them for about 15 minutes, I didn’t want them too firm but also didn’t want them to lose their color. At the same time I had the tricolor Rotini pasta boiling. After the noodles and vegetables were done I combined them, a small amount of pasta water, added shredded Parmesan cheese, season salt, pepper and a little more Italian seasoning. The oil and juices from the vegetables combined with the cheese and water made a nice light sauce for the dish.
Step By Step of Pasta Primavera Recipe
Pasta Primavera
Equipment
- 1 Large pot
- 1 Medium pot to boil noodles
Ingredients
- ¾ Box Tri-Color Rotini Pasta
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning or to taste
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 2 cloves Minced garlic
- 1 bulb Shallot
- 1½ cup Broccoli florets
- 1 Yellow squash sliced and quartered
- 4 Sweet peppers chopped
- 1 cup Carrots diced
- 1 cup Asparagus cut in 1" pieces
- ½ cup Shredded Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup Leftover pasta water
Instructions
- Place broccoli, squash, sweet peppers, carrots and asparagus in a bowl, once diced and chopped.
- Season with Italian seasoning
- Place garlic and shallots in a separate bowl
- Bring pot of water to a boil and cook pasta noodles
- Saute' vegetables for 5-7 minutes then add garlic and shallots and cook for about 5 minutes, or to desired tenderness
- Drain noodles, save ½ cup of pasta water
- Add noodles to pot with vegetables, add salt, pepper and more Italian seasoning
- Stir in water and Parmesan cheese until melted
- Enjoy!
Overall it was a hit and I will definitely be making it in the future. It can be made with a protein like chicken or shrimp as well and variety of other vegetables. This pasta primavera recipe will take less than an hour in the kitchen, so perfect for those busy nights. Also a lot more healthier than fast food or take out. The cheese is great for the kids that are a little picky when it comes to eating their vegetables. Check out the recipes page for more dinner ideas.
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