Pasta Primavera

In Italian, primavera (pree-muh-VEHR-uh) means spring style; with foods, it refers to fresh vegetables.

A favorite pasta dish of mine, because i am a veggie lover!!! But, do not not fear.. this recipe is super adaptable. Grilled or rotisserie chicken, or shrimp can simply be added to make it even more dynamite. Don’t like a veggie? Replace it or leave it out, Want to add more? Be my guest. The key to this pasta is the béchamel and goodness, it is good.

Pasta Primavera

An easy weeknight dinner idea that is customizeable. The silky smoothe sauce is the key to this dish being a favorite around the table.

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Course Main Course

Ingredients

  

Pasta Sauce:

• 1 – 1 lb. of linguine, angel hair, or fettuchine pasta
• 12 cups of heavilly salted water
• ¾ cup of butter
• ¾ cup of flour
• 5 cups of whole milk
• 2 cups of heavy cream
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 tsp. of black pepper
• 1 – 1½ tsp. of salt
• 1 tbsp. of dried parsley
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 ½ cups of grated or powdered parmesean cheese

Vegetables:

• 2 cups of broccoli
• 1 medium sized zucchini, quartered and sliced
• 1 medium sized yellow squash, quartered and sliced
• 5-6 medium mushrooms, sliced or diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• ½ of a purple onion, diced
• freshly chopped basil, garnish

Instructions

 

• Start by making your sauce. To make a roux, you first completely melt your butter on the stove on medium heat and add flour combining well and cooking a mere minute. You then immediately pour in your milk and cream, fresh garlic and seasonings, making it a béchamel (considered a mother sauce of French cuisine that is made from a white roux and milk, infused with herbs and other flavorings)
• Turn heat up to medium high heat and whisk every couple of minutes to keep it from sticking. It should start thickening after 10-15 minutes. Once it is thickened and creamy, turn your sauce on low or warm and add parmesan, stirring in well. Keep warm until its time to assemble the dish.
• While waiting for the béchamel to thicken, pour your water into a medium pot, salt generously and stir and turn onto medium to high heat.​ Begin to chop your vegetables to sauté. Once the pot starts to boil, add your pasta to the water and stir with tongs or a spoon. Follow your package for instructions for boiling (box says 7-8 minutes for al dente', but your pot has to be a rolling boil), sometimes mine isn't always so i just cook it a little longer.
• Next, place a shallow pan or cast-iron skillet on high heat and add around 2 T. of olive oil or butter. Get the pan nice and hot, turn down to medium-high heat and add your broccoli, cooking for a couple minutes. Add your zucchini and squash, cooking for two more minutes. If your pan seems dry, add more oil but not too much. After your harder vegetables are starting to soften, add the rest of the veggies and seasonings to finish sautéing. I prefer my vegetables slightly crunchy, therefore i sauté it on medium-high heat with a short period of time. If you prefer it otherwise, just let them cook longer in your pan until you've reached your preference. Set aside until assembly.
• Once your pasta is cooked to your liking, remove 1 c. of pasta water and set aside. Drain your noodles in a colander and return back to your pot, adding 1/2 c. of pasta water back in. (pasta water sometimes mentioned as 'glorious gold' is a wonderful addition to a perfect pasta. It aids to a beautiful, silky sauce and can add as a thickener because of the starches the pasta has left behind. It also helps the pasta from sticking together and seasons it with additional salt.)
• Pour half of your sauce into the cooked pasta and combine with tongs or a large spoon. Continue adding the rest until your pasta is deliciously coated. It will look like a lot, but pasta soaks in a lot after its allowed some time. Add more pasta water if you need to thin it. This is the perfect time to taste your creation, and make sure your salt is on point. 

  Taste Taste Taste.. you will find this to be a very annoying echo of mine.
• FINALLY! Add your beautifully cooked vegetables to your pasta dish, slightly toss, add fresh basil, and it is ready to wow whoever you are serving. 

Keyword entree, pasta, vegetables