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Pasta Primavera or "Spring Pasta" highlights tender spring vegetables-asparagus, peas, leeks and pea shoots, tossed with pappardelle, lemon zest, olive oil and spring herbs.

Pasta Primavera Recipe

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  • Author: Sylvia Fountaine | Feasting at Home
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 20
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 4-6 1x
  • Category: main, pasta
  • Method: stovetop
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Description

Pasta Primavera or “Spring Pasta” highlights tender spring vegetables-asparagus, peas, leeks and pea shoots, tossed with pappardelle, lemon zest, olive oil and spring herbs.


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 68 ounces pasta- tagliatelle, fettuccine, pappardelle
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 leek, thinly sliced (or sub 2 shallots or one onion)
  • 1 cup fennel bulb, thinly sliced, or sub other spring veggie- see notes
  • 1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1 1/2-inch slices (about 3 cups)
  • 2 cups snap peas, cut in 1/2 or 1/3rds at a diagonal legnthwise (or sub frozen peas, english peas or edamame)
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • zest from one lemon
  • optional additions: big handful of pea shoots, 1 watermelon radish
  • 1 tablespoon tarragon, mint, or dill, more to taste!
  • 1/41/2 cup fresh Italian parsley
  • 1/22/3 cup grated pecorino- or sub parmesan or vegan parmesan
  • Optional : 1/4-1/2 Greek yogurt (or plain kefir) for added creaminess or a drizzle of good olive oil.

Instructions

  1. Cook pasta: Set salted water to boil for pasta – 2 quarts water with 2 teaspoons salt, and boil pasta until al dente, saving one cup of hot salted pasta water.
  2. Saute Veggies: In an EXTRA-LARGE saute pan, heat oil over medium-low heat. Saute onion and fennel, until softened, add asparagus, snow peas (see notes for substitutions) and garlic, season with salt and pepper and continue to saute until tender-crisp and bright green. Slightly under cooking is better than overcooking here. 🙂
  3. Combine: Add the pasta, lemon zest, cheese, pea shoots and watermelon radish, and a little pasta water to loosen it, tossing to coat the pasta,  heating it up gently, allowing the cheese to incorporate. Toss in 2/3rds of the herbs. Taste and add more salt as needed. Add a generous drizzle of good olive oil or  added creaminess, toss in some plain yogurt- start with 1/2 cup, more as desired.
  4. Taste once more, adjusting salt and pepper. If it is bland, it needs more salt.
  5. Pour it onto a serving platter and scatter with the remaining herbs. Enjoy!

Notes

Veggies: You’ll need roughly 6 cups of veggies, including the onion. Other veggies will work too- broccoli, green beans, mushrooms, bell pepper, zucchini, etc. Frozen peas or edamame can be tossed in with the pasta for the last minute of cooking to thaw.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 ½ cups (with pecorino & yogurt)
  • Calories: 400
  • Sugar: 8.6 g
  • Sodium: 507.4 mg
  • Fat: 16.1 g
  • Saturated Fat: 4.3 g
  • Carbohydrates: 49.6 g
  • Fiber: 6 g
  • Protein: 16.8 g
  • Cholesterol: 11.8 mg