Spring means some new fresh vegetables. Goodbye to the hard squashes, turnips and celeriac. Hello peas, and especially asparagus. And the new tender spring veggies go great with pasta.
Use your pasta preference – penne, rotini, fucilli, or farfalle will work for example. Just use something with a bit of texture or grooves to hold onto the light sauce.
I used spring English peas, asparagus and Swiss chard. But again let your preferences be your guide. Swap snap peas for the English peas. Use kale instead of Swiss Chard. Add in some ramps or fiddle-head ferns. The whole veggies cook right in the pasta water – just pull everything out of the pasta water at once with a spider. And a bit of the starchy pasta water helps coat the pasta and vegetables with sauce.
The sauce is quite light, with a good hint of lemon and fresh herbs. Dried will work, but the flavor of them will not be as pronounced. And a grating of good Parmesan.
And it only takes about 30 minutes from start to finish. It’s a good meatless main dish, or can work as a side dish to accompany chicken, fish or even a steak.
Spring Pasta Primavera
pasta with fresh spring vegetables in a light lemony sauce
Ingredients
- 8 oz pasta half of a pound box
- 1/2 cup English peas, shelled
- 1/2 bunch this asparagus trimmed, cut in 1 1/2" pieces
- 1/2 bunch Swiss Chard, Kale or spinach
- 1/3 cup oilive oil
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lemon, grated zest and 1 tbsp lemon juice from half
- 2 tbsp fresh chives, chopped
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 tbsp fresh tarragon, dill, or Italian pasrley, chopped
- 1/4 cup Paremsan, grated
Instructions
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Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook as directed.
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Add the peas and asparagus during the last 3 minutes of cooking directly to the pasta pot. Stir occasionally. Make sure to keep the pasta aldente.
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Meanwhile, whisk togehter until well blended the 1/3 cup of oil, lemon zest, and 1 tbsp lemon juice (aobut 1/2 the lemon squeezed), salt and pepper. ONce blended add in teh fresh herbs.
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Also heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add aobut a tbsp of Olive oil, and drop in the fresh greens. Cook and stir just long enough to wilt. Using a spider or skimmer collect the pasta and vegetables out of the water and drop into the skillet. Pour over the lemon juice -olive oil mix. Add 1/4 cup pasta water; add more pasta water if the mix seems too dry. Correct seasoning as needed.
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Pour into a large bowl to serve family style. Sprinkle the cheese over top. Serve with additional grated cheese.
