Pasta Primavera is a classic Italian American dish that perfectly captures the essence of "Spring" with its fresh and colorful ingredients. In fact, the word "Primavera" actually translates to "Spring" in Italian! It features a wide range of fresh vegetables and is served in a light olive oil based sauce. This is my personal favorite recipe as it blissfully blends flavor, freshness and color.
Pasta Primavera is a classic Italian American dish that perfectly captures the essence of "Spring" with its fresh and colorful ingredients. It features a wide range of fresh vegetables and is served in a light olive oil based sauce.
Start off by roughly chopping your red chili, asparagus and garlic. Slice your zucchini and squash in half longways then roughly chop into uniform pieces. Julienne your red onion. Set your veggies aside. (Optional):Blanch your asparagus and peas in boiling water to retain their vibrant green color.
Pour your extra virgin olive oil into a pan set to medium heat. Drop in your garlic and red chili and sauté until fragrant (about 3 minutes). Then, add in your red onion, squash and zucchini. Cook for 5 minutes or until your onions have softened. Deglaze with white wine then add in your sun dried tomatoes. Pour in your peas and asparagus last as to not overcook them.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Pour in a handful of sea salt to season your cooking water. Drop in your rigatoni and cook for 10-12 minutes or until "al dente". (You can use any pasta shape at this step but I found that Rigatoni or Penne work best for this dish)
Pour your cooked pasta and about 1/4 cup of pasta cooking water into the pan with your vegetables and bring to a simmer while gently stirring. Once at a simmer, cut the heat, and tear in some fresh basil leaves. Finally, sprinkle in your Pecorino Romano. Give everything a few tosses to form a creamy, velvety sauce.
Serve with more fresh grated pecorino on top then Dig In!