Pasta Primavera
This simple vegetarian pasta primavera is great for a healthy, easy dinner. I love making this recipe because it’s filling and satisfying and good for you. It makes great leftovers too. The following recipe is designed to give you a few lunches/dinners worth of leftovers (when made for dinner for two).
Ingredients:
Whole wheat fusilli pasta
olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
The Veggies:
2 small zucchini, thinly sliced
1 summer squash, thinly sliced
15 crimini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 red onion, sliced
1 yellow onion, sliced
4 large cloves of garlic
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 cup broccoli florets, trimmed into small bites
The Toppings:
10 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
fresh herbs (basil, oregano, thyme, parsley, chives)
crumbled goat cheese
balsalmic vinegar
Directions:
The key to this dish is getting the veggies cooked just right. By cooking them in batches you insure that nothing gets over or undercooked.
Put a bit of olive oil in a large saute pan, and saute the veggies up over medium heat one at a time as follows, then set aside into a large bowl before beginning the next batch.
Zucchini and summer squash: until golden-dark brown
Red onion and yellow onion: until golden-dark brown
Mushrooms: until golden-dark brown
Red bell pepper, broccoli and garlic: until the bell pepper and broccoli are brightened a bit and the garlic is fragrant
This dish is intended to be served around room temperature so that the fresh veggies and herbs don't wilt. Once all the veggies are cooked up season them to taste with salt and pepper and toss to mix, set them aside to cool a bit while you make your pasta.
Put water on to boil and cook your pasta (I use whole wheat fusilli and make it fresh for each serving) until al dente. Put the pasta on plates and top it with the veggies, a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Then top with the tomatoes, goat cheese and fresh herbs. Finally sprinkle with a bit of freshly ground black pepper.
On a side note, you could easily add a little protein to this meal by slicing up and cooking a couple of chicken sausages and then tossing them into the mix.
Printable PDF of the recipe: