I’ll admit, this one is right up there if you don’t tell the others. Dinner is simply amazing with the delicious light cream sauce, fresh veggies, and beautiful carrot ribbons.
Even better? You include all of your vegetables with your carbs, and that’s how I prefer to do it, buddy. If so, let’s start cooking.
About Pasta Primavera
Though it is essentially an American dish, pasta primavera was created in New York City in the 1970s and means “spring pasta” in Italian. If you want to read the story, it’s a really interesting one. It’s basically spaghetti with fresh vegetables in a creamy sauce.
The dish often has a lot of spring veggies because it literally means “spring pasta.” Although the veggies used in this dish are readily available throughout the year in the United States, you can to use other vegetables. More about that will be revealed soon.
As mentioned earlier, this dish calls for a variety of vegetables that you should be able to find all year round. But switching up the vegetables based on the season or what you have on hand is really easy.
I prefer to focus on more vegetables in the spring, such as peas, yellow squash, and fresh asparagus. I add broccoli and mushrooms for a heartier fall dish. You can try so many different variations.
Ingredients
Vegetables:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced diagonally
- 1 cup bite-size broccoli pieces
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into strips
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 4 ounces white mushrooms, washed and sliced
- 2 medium zucchini, sliced diagonally
- 1 medium summer squash, sliced diagonally
Sauce:
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 large onion, diced
- 1/2 cup chicken broth, plus more as needed
- 1/4 cup white wine (see Cook’s Note)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream or half-and-half
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 12 fresh basil leaves, chopped, plus more for serving
- 1 pound pasta (fettuccini), cooked according to package directions
Directions
- For the vegetables: Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the carrots and cook for 1 minute. Then add the broccoli; cook for another minute. Add the red peppers; cook 1 minute more. Remove the vegetables from the skillet and set aside.
- To the skillet, add the butter and the remaining 1 tablespoon oil; allow to heat up. Add the mushrooms, zucchini and squash, and cook until starting to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the vegetables from the skillet and add them to the other vegetables. Set aside.
- For the sauce: Add the garlic and onions to the skillet, and cook until starting to turn translucent, about 2 minutes.
- Next, pour in the chicken broth and wine; stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen all the flavorful bits. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until reduced by about half. Stir in the cream and Parmesan, and allow the cheese to melt. Add salt and black pepper to taste.
- Add the cooked vegetables to the sauce, along with the peas and basil; stir to combine. If the sauce needs a little more liquid, splash in a small amount of broth. Place the cooked pasta in a large serving bowl and pour all the contents of the skillet over the pasta; toss to combine. Sprinkle with extra basil, and serve with extra Parmesan.
Get the Recipe: Pasta Primavera
Advice for Storage and Heating
This pasta recipe is one that I have no problem reheating and eating as leftovers. They’re not too bad!
Any leftover pasta should be refrigerated in an airtight container. This will help reconstitute the sauce when it’s reheated, so if you have any leftover pasta water, think about adding a tablespoon or two with the pasta.
To keep the sauce creamy while reheating pasta, you can also add a small amount of cream.
Reheat again on the stovetop or microwave until thoroughly warm. Enjoy it with extra fresh basil and parmesan cheese.
FAQs for Pasta Primavera
What is meant by Pasta Primavera?
Spaghetti Primavera translates to “spring pasta” in Italian. Primavera means “spring.”
What ingredients go into Primavera Sauce?
Pasta Primavera sauce in the 1980s was made with parmesan, garlic, and cream; however, more recent iterations are using olive oil in place of the cream, making the dish lighter.
Is it possible to make Pasta Primavera vegan?
Absolutely, omit the cheese and add additional lemon, olive oil, garlic, and salt to taste. If desired, you can whisk in vegan parmesan or vegan yogurt.
Pasta primavera
Ingredients
- Vegetables:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 large carrots peeled and sliced diagonally
- 1 cup bite-size broccoli pieces
- 1 red bell pepper seeded and sliced into strips
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 4 ounces white mushrooms washed and sliced
- 2 medium zucchini sliced diagonally
- 1 medium summer squash sliced diagonally
- Sauce:
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 large onion diced
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1/2 cup heavy cream or half-and-half
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 12 fresh basil leaves chopped
- 1 pound pasta
Instructions
- For the vegetables: Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the carrots and cook for 1 minute. Then add the broccoli; cook for another minute. Add the red peppers; cook 1 minute more. Remove the vegetables from the skillet and set aside.
- To the skillet, add the butter and the remaining 1 tablespoon oil; allow to heat up. Add the mushrooms, zucchini and squash, and cook until starting to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the vegetables from the skillet and add them to the other vegetables. Set aside.
- For the sauce: Add the garlic and onions to the skillet, and cook until starting to turn translucent, about 2 minutes.
- Next, pour in the chicken broth and wine; stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen all the flavorful bits. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until reduced by about half. Stir in the cream and Parmesan, and allow the cheese to melt. Add salt and black pepper to taste.
- Add the cooked vegetables to the sauce, along with the peas and basil; stir to combine. If the sauce needs a little more liquid, splash in a small amount of broth. Place the cooked pasta in a large serving bowl and pour all the contents of the skillet over the pasta; toss to combine. Sprinkle with extra basil, and serve with extra Parmesan.
