Summer Pasta Primavera

  

Don't you just love summer!  I do!  The warm temperatures, the availability of fresh fruit and vegetables,   This is one of my favorite times of the year.

I am really happy to share a beautifully healthy pasta primavera recipe with you today that makes good use of our fresh summer produce and goes together in a snap! Bright, colorful and delicious!

 

 

Normally Primavera is a creamy pasta dish that is served in the spring time with fresh spring produce, but this version is a much healthier version! With roasted tomatoes, shallots, garlic, corn and zucchini it shouts the best of summer to the rooftops.

It is so delicious you won't miss the cream at all!  Trust me on this! 

 

This is the best pasta primavera recipe I have ever tasted with bright fresh flavors, lots of color and plenty of crunch. I guarantee you will fall in love with it as I have done! 

I adapted the recipe from a cookbook I have called Once Upon a Chef by Jennifer Segal. It is a book filled with lots of quick fix weeknight meals and lush weekend options, with many updated spins on old favorites!

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE SUMMER PASTA PRIMAVERA

This is a beautiful combination of some of the best flavors summer has to offer! 

• 1 pint (285g) cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 2 medium shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 2 TBS extra virgin olive oil, plus more to serve
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 3/4 tsp sugar
• 1 small zucchini (courgette) washed, trimmed and cut into 1/4 inch dice
• 1 ear of corn, husked and kernels cut off
• 6 ounces (170g) dry fusilli pasta
• 1 1/2 TBS butter
• 1/2 tsp Herbs de Province
• pinch red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup (25g) grated pecorino Romano cheese, plus more to serve
• 1/4 cup (8 g) tightly rolled fresh basil leaves, julienned
• small handful of toasted pine nuts or flaked almonds

 

I used grape tomatoes, which I cut in half. So sweet and delicious. I had banana shallots and I sliced them very thinly after peeling.  A nice sharp knife makes short work of this. I find that if you cut off a tiny sliver of shallot from the one underside of the shallot it won't roll around on your cutting board and that makes things a lot easier.

I cut my zucchini into thin slices lengthwise after cutting off the stem and flower end.  It was then very easy to make 1/4 inch cuts down the length of the vegetable and then crosswise into a 1/4 inch dice. In the Chef world this is called small dice.

 

I find it much easier to husk a cob of corn by trimming away the base end first and then peeling it from the bottom up.  No corn silk stays behind.

Of course this is not possible to do if your corn comes already half husked. I hate it when shops do that. I would rather husk my own corn.  Once husked it is very simple to just take a sharp knife and cut off the kernels.  Do this in a bowl if you don't want corn flying all over the place!

To julienne basil, wash the leaves, pat dry, stack one on top of the other, and then roll tightly into a cigar shape.  Cut crosswise with a sharp knife into julienne cuts.

The original recipe called for toasted pine nuts. I could not find those anywhere and so I used flaked almonds. A most delicious choice and quite comparable in flavor!

You can easily make your own herbs de Province. You can find my recipe for this tasty herb mixture here.  Its a very easy make.

 

HOW TO MAKE SUMMER PASTA PRIMAVERA

 

This is such a quick and easy dish. It is now considered to be one of my favorite things to make. I can't wait to have some company over so that I can make it for them! 

Line a medium sized baking sheet with aluminum foil and preheat the oven to 450*F/235*C/ gas mark 7.  Prep all of your vegetables. 

Place the tomatoes and shallots on the baking sheet. Toss them with the oil, garlic, sugar and salt to coat. Spread out on the baking sheet.

Roast in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes until beginning to soften and brown.

 

While this is happening, put a pot of lightly salted water on to boil. Add the pasta when it boils and cook until al dente according to the package directions.

At the end of the 15 to 20 minutes, remove the baking sheet and add the corn and zucchini. Toss all together with a rubber spatula, spread out and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes longer, just until crispy tender.

 

Drain your pasta and return it to the saucepan. Add the contents of the baking sheet, along with any juices and give it a toss together. Add the butter, herbs de Province, pecorino Romano, basil and toasted nuts. Toss together well and adjust seasoning as desired.

Spoon out onto heated bowls, drizzle with bit more oil and serve. Pass additional cheese as desired.

 

This was extremely delicious and yet so healthy. Who says healthy can't also be delicious!  Every mouthful was filled with beautiful flavors and textures!

This is a dish which is very rich in flavor. I enjoyed it as a main dish, but it would also make an excellent side dish to fish, chicken, pork, beef, etc.  I can see it going very well with a side of grilled Italian sausages!

 

If you are a fan of quick and easy pasta dishes you might also enjoy these delicious recipes: 

MARTHA STEWARTS ONE PAN PASTA - One thing I love about this tasty pasta dish is that everything cooks in one pan, even the pasta (linguini) . . .  you just add the dry pasta and other ingredients, including water, and it cooks all-together in the pan. No fuss, no muss  . . .  no faffing about with having to drain this or that   . . .  the water, tomatoes, etc. condense along with the starch from the cooking pasta to create a delicious sauce.

BOW TIE PASTA WITH SPROUTS AND BACON - Pasta, sprouts and bacon are three of my absolute favorite things, so I just love this dish. Its a very simple recipe and goes together really quickly if you have all of your ingredients prepped and ready to go. The sprouts get all caramelized on the edges, which I really love. Crisp salty bacon and those nutty crispy-tender sprouts in a creamy sauce with plenty of cheese scattered over top! What's not to love about this! 

CHEESY TUNA SKILLET PASTA - This is a fabulously tasty skillet meal.  It goes together really quickly and is done in about 15 minutes time maximum. While it is cooking you can be putting together a nice salad to serve on the side. Easy peasy. Its like your favorite Tuna Casserole, or Tuna Helper I guess. Cooked on top of the stove, all in one dish. Again, no fuss, no muss.

Summer Pasta Primavera

Yield: 2

Author: Marie Rayner

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 35 Min

A delicious pasta dish which is a fabulously tasty combination of delicious summer vegetables. Wonderful as a main dish for two or as a side dish along side of your summer grills for three.

Ingredients

• 1 pint (285g) cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 2 medium shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 2 TBS extra virgin olive oil, plus more to serve
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 3/4 tsp sugar
• 1 small zucchini (courgette) washed, trimmed and cut into 1/4 inch dice
• 1 ear of corn, husked and kernels cut off
• 6 ounces (170g) dry fusilli pasta
• 1 1/2 TBS butter
• 1/2 tsp Herbs de Province
• pinch red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup (25g) grated pecorino Romano cheese, plus more to serve
• 1/4 cup (8 g) tightly rolled fresh basil leaves, julienned
• small handful of toasted pine nuts or flaked almonds

Instructions

1. Line a medium sized baking sheet with aluminum foil and preheat the oven to 450*F/235*C/ gas mark 7.
2. Prep all of your vegetables. Place the tomatoes and shallots on the baking sheet. Toss them with the oil, garlic, sugar and salt to coat. Spread out on the baking sheet.
3. Roast in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes until beginning to soften and brown.
4. While this is happening, put a pot of lightly salted water on to boil. Add the pasta when it boils and cook until al dente according to the package directions.
5. At the end of the 15 to 20 minutes, remove the baking sheet and add the corn and zucchini. Toss all together with a rubber spatula, spread out and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes longer, just until crispy tender.
6. Drain your pasta and return it to the saucepan. Add the contents of the baking sheet, along with any juices and give it a toss together. Add the butter, herbs de Province, pecorino Romano, basil and toasted nuts. Toss together well and adjust seasoning as desired.
7. Spoon out onto heated bowls, drizzle with bit more oil and serve. Pass additional cheese as desired.

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