Pasta Primavera. Make This Healthy Pasta Salad With Ripe Vegetables And Whole Wheat Noodles. Pasta primavera is a straightforward recipe; fettuccine tossed with an array of fresh spring vegetables. When done right, this is one of the year's great seasonal recipes.

It has a light and fresh sauce and is the perfect break from heavier winter foods! Keyword Best Pasta Primavera recipe, Pasta Primavera Recipe, Primavera Pasta. Pasta primavera is a simple dish made with pasta and fresh vegetables. You can have Pasta Primavera using 11 ingredients and 4 steps. Here is how you achieve that.

Ingredients of Pasta Primavera

It's 3 tbsp. of salted butter, divided.
It's of About 2 cups chopped veggies (see step 1 for more details).
It's 3 cloves of garlic, minced.
Prepare 2 cups of penne pasta, uncooked.
It's of Salt and pepper.
You need 1/4 tsp. of Italian seasoning.
It's 1/4 tsp. of salt free all purpose seasoning.
It's of Zest of 1 large lemon.
You need of Juice of half large lemon.
Prepare 1/2 cup of reserved starchy pasta water.
Prepare 1/4 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese + more for topping.

Many people think it's an Italian dish but it's actually an American dish which was created by chef Sirio Maccioni and two assisting chefs (the original used cream cheese). Primavera is Italian for "spring," and dishes titled "à la primavera" usually contain fresh vegetables. Pasta primavera is the most popular dish in the primavera family. Take advantage of the precut vegetables in your supermarket's produce section.

Pasta Primavera instructions

For this recipe, it's pretty versatile, so use whatever veggies you have on hand, just be sure to chop them all to roughly even pieces. Pictured up top, I used yellow squash, broccoli florets, shredded carrots, sliced cherry tomatoes, green onions and peas...just to give an idea. This is a great chance to clean out the veggie drawer..
Heat a large pot of salted water over high heat. Once it comes to a boil, cook the penne pasta according to the box directions until it is al dente. Before draining the pasta, reserve about 1/2 cup of the starchy water and set it aside, then drain the pasta and return it to the empty pot. While you're waiting on the water to boil, begin to cook the veggies, that way everything should be finished at roughly the same time..
In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp. of the butter over medium heat. If you have some heartier veggies, add them to the skillet first (I added my broccoli florets and yellow squash first, to give them a head start), then add more delicate veggies after the heartier ones have had a few minutes to soften up a bit. Once all the veggies are relatively crisp-tender, add in the garlic and season it all with the Italian seasoning, all purpose seasoning and about 1/4 tsp. each of salt and pepper..
Once the veggies are ready, toss them into the pot with the cooked pasta, then top with the remaining butter, lemon zest, lemon juice and grated parmesan. Stir it all together, then drizzle in the reserved pasta water a bit at a time, until the pasta is at a good consistency (I usually end up using closer to 1/4 cup). Taste and season with some more salt and pepper, to taste. Then serve with some additional freshly grated parmesan cheese over the top..

Pasta Primavera "This colorful pasta and vegetable toss is a great quick meal," assures Charlotte McDaniel of Anniston, Alabama. Heat remaining olive oil and butter in a large skillet. Mix cooked pasta, lemon zest, basil, parsley, and balsamic vinegar into the onion mixture. Disco-era chefs in New York looked to Italy for inspiration, where families had combined fresh spring vegetables with pasta for generations. The word "primavera" means springtime in Italian.