I went to the garden to check on the pumpkins on Monday and grabbed a large soup mug on my way out as an after thought. After all, you should never go into the garden without something to collect your fruit and veg in. This particular trip found my container woefully inadequate. Our tomatoes are looking amazing and between the three families that tend the garden we seem to be keeping up with what the tomatoes can produce. The beans are coming in nicely as well. We thought a beetle had damaged them but they seem to be coming along just fine.
One of our favorite recipes to make with veggies is a Pasta Primavera Pronto recipe adapted from Epicurious.com. The original recipe calls for frozen veg, which is great for winter evenings when you’ve been cooped up in the house too long and cabin fever is starting to set in. But in the summer when fresh veg is available it would be a travesty not to use it in this amazing dish. Here is our recipe for Fresh Pasta Primavera.
Fresh Pasta Primavera
- 3/4 lb fresh green beans, snapped and cut in half
- 1/4 lb fresh peas
- 1 small to medium zucchini cut into bite size pieces
- 1 red onion, cut into quarters through the root end then sliced thin
- 3 dozen small tomatoes (we used cherry, grape, yellow pear and quartered indigo rose)
- 8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 lb dried spaghetti (we used Barilla Gluten-free spaghetti)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
- 3 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Bring a large stock pot of water to a boil. Add green beans and peas and parboil for 2 minutes. Remove veggies from the boiling water with a slotted spoon or small strainer and set aside. Do not pour out the boiling water!
While the veggies are parboiling, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot add garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook for 45 seconds, taking care not to burn the garlic, to make a spicy garlic oil. Pour the oil and all the garlic and pepper bits into a small container and set aside.
Return the veggie infused water to a boil, add the dried pasta, cook until al dente. When the pasta is finished, strain in a colander and place in a serving dish. Toss the pasta with the spicy garlic oil you made earlier (garlic bits and all).
While the pasta is cooking saute the red onions in the skillet with a touch more olive oil until they begin to soften. Add the zucchini. When the zucchini is heated through add the tomatoes. When the tomatoes have begun to warm, make a space in the middle of the pan and toss in the butter and grated cheese.
When the tomatoes have been well heated and the butter melted, layer the contents of the skillet over the pasta. Grate additional cheese over the dish to taste and serve immediately.
NOTES: You can use any combination of veggies that you want to use. We used beans, zucchini and tomatoes because that’s what we had on hand (we almost always use broccoli but were fresh out this round). The one veggie I would never omit if I didn’t have to is the tomatoes. They add a fresh burst of flavor you just can’t replace. I know some folks have a hard time with onion and garlic. You can modify these items to your taste but don’t skimp on the garlic if you can help it. We tend to keep the onions bigger so our little ones can pick them out. If you like yours smaller by all means dice those babies! We have not tried any other oils than olive oil for this recipe. If you try coconut oil or any other kind let us know how it turns out.
