Angel Hair Pasta Primavera

| By: Alexa Mendez |

Angel Hair Pasta Primavera is a beginner friendly recipe full of spring seasonal vegetables like asparagus, peas, zucchini, and basil. The notorious pasta primavera follows back to Maccioni's New York City eatery Le Cirque, where it previously showed up as a special before it was made renowned in America through a 1977 article in the New York Times written by Craig Claiborne and Pierre Franey which incorporated a recipe for the dish.

Ingredients

Servings: 4 servings

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

• 4 asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into 1-inch segments

• ½ cup snow peas

• 1 cup broccoli florets

• ½ pound angel hair pasta

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 small zucchini, diced

• 3 Roma or other paste tomatoes, seeded, and diced

• ¼ cup chicken stock or vegetable stock

• ½ cup heavy cream

• ½ cup peas, fresh or frozen

• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

• 12 basil leaves, chopped

• Kosher salt

Cooking Instructions

1. Get a large pot of water boiling. Salt it well. It should be as salty as the sea. Fill a large bowl with ice water. Boil the broccoli for approximately 1 minute.

2. Add the asparagus into the pot and boil for another minute. Add the snow peas after the 1 minute and boil for an additional 30 seconds.

3. Remove all vegetables and submerge them in the ice water. Once they are cool, drain them in a colander

4. At this point, you can change out the water from the pot or keep the water from where you cooked the vegetables for later use; I used the same water

5. In a large pan, heat the butter over medium heat. When you hear it sizzling, add the garlic and zucchini and stir for approximately 1 minute.

6. Add the diced or paste tomatoes and mix another 2 minutes

7. Pour in the stock, I used chicken stock, and turn the heat to high to bring it to a boil

8. Add the cream and toss in the vegetables you boiled along with the peas. Stir well.

9. Turn the heat down until mixture is simmering not boiling

10. Add the parmesan cheese and stir thoroughly

11. Heat water in pot until it boils then toss in the Angel Hair Pasta. Let cook for approximately 2 minutes

12. As soon as pasta is done, toss into sauce pan and stir well

13. Add basil and salt for taste

14. Serve and enjoy

Notes

• I recommend stirring the salt into the boiling pot of water if it accumulates at the bottom without dissolving

• You can use frozen vegetable to make Angel Hair Pasta Primavera if you do not have access to fresh ingredients. It is recommended to use frozen peas instead of fresh peas since they are quicker to cook and fresh tasting.

• I recommend choosing what type of stock depending on your dietary needs. For someone of a vegetarian diet, you can opt for vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.

• If after step 10 the sauce seems too thick (consistency should be thick but still flow) feel free to add more broth, cream, or water

• If you have access to it, white wine, ideally dry French white pairs nicely with this dish

• I recommend adding a hint of red pepper flakes for an additional hint of flavor to the dish for those who wish for a spicier experience