Spring has definitely sprung and it is wonderful! The days are finally warm and every once in awhile a cool breeze drifts by. People are turning to their gardens to plant new veggies and herbs that they’ll enjoy over the next few months.
Dinners get lighter during the spring time too! Salads as a main course, grilled chicken, and seasonal veggie dishes take the place of heavy, rich soups, casseroles, and other popular winter time “comfort foods”.
This recipe is a wonderful example of how you can “lighten up” a pasta recipe. The beauty of this recipe is that you can throw in any veggies that you enjoy. It’s very versatile, healthy, and easy to make! Our original Pasta Primavera recipe is listed here but we made it this time, with what pasta and veggies we had on hand. Because, Corona. Asparagus from the garden, and some left over fresh carrots and mushrooms, onion, and lots of fresh garlic. And of course, this pasta dish isn’t complete without parmesan! More the better, in our opinion.
Enjoy!
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Ingredients
- 1 lb short pasta (ex. penne or bowtie or orzo)
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- ½ medium onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 large artichokes or 1 cup frozen artichoke hearts
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 1 cup fresh or frozen peas
- 1 bundle fresh asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 12 baby bella mushrooms
- 1 Tbsp butter
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
- 2 Tbsp basil, chiffonade
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
Instructions
- Boil large pot of liberally salted water and cook pasta according to package directions. Drain making sure to save one cup of pasta cooking liquid.
- If using fresh artichokes, cut off leaves, scrape out choke, peel top layer or stem, and cut artichoke heart into 6-8 pieces.
- In a large skillet on medium heat, saute onion, garlic, carrot, artichoke hearts, and bottom half of asparagus stalks for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add in asparagus tops and mushrooms. Cook another 2 minutes.
- Add in peas, pasta, butter, reserved cooking liquid, and ¼ cup of the parmesan cheese. Stir to combine and coat.
- Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly.
- Top with remaining parmesan and basil.
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