Dining Detour

Last week, I made a veggie packed primavera pasta dish. It was so easy that I am officially adding it to my rep of fast weeknight dinners. I added a few things I had around the house, such as a yummy zucchini from my mom’s garden and a box of frozen chopped broccoli.

The best part about this dish is you can really mix and match, between frozen and fresh, and use what you have in your kitchen.  I thought about using frozen green beans instead of asparagus, but then they looked so good in the store I had to get the asparagus. A big time saver is buying things pre-cut so all you have to do is throw them on in.

Pasta Primavera recipe: Adapted from Ellie Krieger

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1 red bell pepper, cleaned, seeded and cut into strips (6 ounces) – I went with a yellow pepper for extra color
• 3 carrots cut into rounds
• 1 medium zucchini cut into rounds
• 1 box frozen chopped broccoli (defrosted)
• 1/2 pound thin asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 cup sliced button mushrooms (4 ounces) I used baby bella (the kind that come already sliced)
• 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced in 1/2 (6 ounces)
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken stock
• 1/2 cup 1 percent milk I used skim plus – love that milk
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, dissolved in 3 tablespoons water who has time to dissolve? I just added a sprinkle of flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 pound whole-wheat linguine I used whole wheat rotini but whatever you have around
• 1/2 cup (1 1/2 ounces) grated Parmesan
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves
• 1/4 cup shredded basil leaves

Directions

Get your pasta water boiling. Meanwhile, Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Cook garlic until soft, about 1 minute. Add peppers and carrots and cook until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add zucchini, broccoli, mushrooms, asparagus and tomatoes and cook until softened, an additional 5 minutes.

Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute more. Add chicken stock, milk, salt and pepper and bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook until liquid has thickened slightly, about 5 minutes. If you decide to use fresh spinach, throw it in now since it cooks so fast.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions; drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water. Toss pasta with vegetables and sauce. Add pasta water, if necessary, to loosen mixture. Only do this if there isn’t enough sauce, if you use frozen veggies usually they provide enough water. Serve garnished with Parmesan, parsley and basil.

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