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Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Pasta Primavera Redux

Summer is a great time for meals using fresh ingredients. While we don't have
fresh veggies and seasonings
our own veggie garden, we shop for fresh produce, whether at a grocery store or in season at farm markets. 
I can't recall when we shopped the frozen food isle in a grocery store (just don't go there). Of course, the frozen area with ice cream is entirely different; it's a basic food group — right? (please don't let us know if not).

Not only is this recipe easy and delicious (my favorite meal terms) — it's great for quick meals. Unlike other pasta primavera recipes I've tried, this one uses roasted vegetables, so less cooking is involved. 

The only downside is that you need to heat the oven to a very high temp to roast the veggies. Remember, to turn on the vent fan and use caution when opening the oven to stir them after the first 10 minutes. 

You can make your own variations. For example, roasted eggplant, cauliflower, broccoli will also pair well with the pasta as will various colors of peppers. While farfalle (bowtie) pasta was used here, other types will work too. In short, you can be as creative as you want, based on your own taste preferences (and what's available in your fridge or pantry). Substituting fresh herbs would be a plus, but alas none in our fridge.

Credit for this meal idea goes to Giada De Laurentiis who has recipes by category on her website. She's one of my favorite celebrity chefs, besides Nick Stellino. Their recipes nearly always include fresh ingredients and easily prepared meals. 

Enough of my digressing — here's the recipe post. (Note: don't worry if you have more veggies, they will reduce when roasting. I would recommend adding more.)

Pasta Primavera

Suggested vegetables, all cut into thin strips
Servings: 2 people for 2 nights

  • 1 medium zucchini
  • 1 yellow squash
  • 1 red bell pepper (yellow or orange good too)
  • 1 green bell pepper
  • 1 onion, thinly sliced
  • Olive oil
  • Kosher salt or sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 TBSP herbes de Provence or dried Italian herbs 
  • 2 C farfalle (bowtie) pasta
  • 10-12 cherry tomatoes, halved (add last)
  • 1/2 C grated cheese, 4-cheese or Parmesan-Romano
  • 1-2 carrots (optional)
  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
  2. Cut up vegetables. Place on large baking sheet, toss with olive oil, salt, pepper and dried herbs.
  3. Bake until carrots (if using) are tender and vegetables begin to brown. 
  4. Cook for 20 minutes; stir after the first 10 minutes.
    veggies will reduce when roasted
  5. Cook pasta in pot of boiling salted water according to package directions. Drain and reserve 1 cup of cooking liquid.
  6. Toss pasta with vegetable mixture adding enough liquid to moisten. Season pasta with salt, pepper and cheese.
Serve and enjoy


13 comments:

Out on the prairie said...

I have all these veggies in the garden. Anxious to harvest.

NCmountainwoman said...

Yes, hooray for summer veggies.

Latane Barton said...

I couldn't get the recipe to print so I wrote it down. I am gonna try that very soon. Thanks for the idea.

William Kendall said...

It sounds and looks delicious!

MadSnapper said...

OH YUM... this I would love

Emma Springfield said...

That is a beautiful looking meal. making the food attractive is the first half of making a good meal.

L. D. said...

Some places still sell primavera and I like it. This recipe looks really good.

diane b said...

My mouth is watering.

Ginnie said...

Another interesting recipe. I enjoy that you try them out first and then give us the results.

Connie said...

Sounds tasty, and the veggies make it colorful and appealing.

Anonymous said...

Looks tasty and nutritious.

Doris said...

This sounds so good! We love roasted veggies, too. Of course, I'd have to use gluten free pasta but there are many good choices out there.
Enjoy your weekend!

barbara l. hale said...

Looks like a great way to make what could be a complicated dish. Yum!