Technically I shouldn’t be calling this pasta primavera as this is neither tomato based nor super light – two traits of the traditional dish. But this is my own version and it is one of the nicest I have ever had. As a teenager I was vegetarian for many years and at that time there were not very many vegetarian options on menus, so one thing that I ate a lot of was a “pasta primavera”, the standard meatless option. I quote it because it was frequently a heavy and thick cream based dish that scarcely resembled fresh vegetables. I actually have a very distinct memory of eating it at the Disneyland hotel and not being able to finish it because it was congealed and cold – not that I am claiming that everyone else’s food was good that day 
. I also have a few really amazing memories of this fresh vegetable pasta dish, one great one in particular visiting my aunt on the east coast at around the same age.
So, for me this dish has high hopes and I certainly wouldn’t make it unless I had nice fresh vegetables. So how to turn a potentially boring dish into something great? Use Marcella Hazan as your inspiration! I used the basis of the cream sauce from her Creamy Basil and Zucchini dish from her Classic Italian Cookbook and did a little tweaking. It is nice because there is no cream, but you get a really nice creamy consistency from the egg yolk and cheeses. When I had my vision for this this afternoon at work I had imagined making pasta from scratch too, but by the time I got home I was too tired so some store bought linguine did the trick. You could use any pasta here I would think. And of course do mix up the vegetables just tweak the blanching time accordingly you want to under cook them to make them just tender but still crisp. Veggies that would be great I think would be asparagus, summer squash, and peppers.
(makes 2-4 portions)
-1 zucchini, scrubbed and cut into 1/2cm rounds.
-3 small carrots, diagonally cut into 1″ pieces
-1/2 small onion, sliced and broken into half moons.
-2 celery stalks, diagonally cut into 1″ pieces
-1 tomato, de-seed and cut into ribs (see below)
-1/2 bag of baby spinach (60g dry), washed
-3T butter
-1T oil
-1 egg yolk
-1/2C freshly grated Parmiggiano Reggiano (or 1/4 each of Parmiggiano Reggiano and Pecorino Romano)
-1/2C milk
-1T flour
-salt and pepper to season
1. Prep the zucchini, carrots, spinach and celery. Bring a large unsalted pot of water to a boil and prepare an ice bath big enough to accommodate all the veggies nearby. Put the carrots in the water and set the timer for a minute. Once the timer is done add the zucchini and celery and set another minute timer. When that is up add the spinach for one last minute. Remove all the veggies from the pot and immediately submerge them in an ice bath. (TIP: if you use a slotted spoon rather then draining the water you can boil the pasta in it.). When the veggies have cooled drain and set aside.
2. In a saute pan over medium low heat sweat the onions until tender (about 10 minutes) stirring frequently so they don’t brown. Meanwhile seed and chop the tomato. To do this first remove the core from the tomato and cut it in half through the core and then in quarters again so that you can see all the seeds. over a sink or garbage bowl slide clean fingers into each quarter of the tomato to discard the seeds. Now cut the tomato into strips 1cm thick, and then each strip in half widthwise. Add the tomatoes to the cooked veggies. When the onions are done take off the heat and set aside.
3. Assemble all your ingredients so you are ready to put it all together, have at hand the cheese, milk, egg yolk and veggies. Stir the flour into the milk to dissolve it.
4. Melt 1.5T of the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat, meanwhile put the pasta on. The pasta will cook while you make the sauce. When the butter starts to bubble turn it down to medium low and slowly whisk in the milk and flour. Allow to cook for a minute continuously whisking. Add all of the veggies turning a few times to coat and allow the veggies to heat up. When they are heated through remove from the heat and immediately stir in the remaining butter. Once melted do the same for the egg yolk and cheese. When the cheese has melted and the sauce is consistent you will want to taste for seasoning, you will probably need about a 1/2t salt plus several healthy grindings of pepper.
5. Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce immediately.
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This was an excellent recipe. I made the meal tonight and it was delicious! I improvised slightly in that I only used broccoli, carrot and peas. I also used sauted chicken breast cut into small pieces. While the pasta was cooking, I sauted the chicken and each vegetable separately, seasoning it with salt pepper and garlic. I followed the sauce recipe except that I mixed all of the flour with all the butter before adding the milk (this was a mistake – in that the sauce began to solidify instantly, so I added more milk to bring it back to a creamy consistency – thankfully, this worked). I then added the vegatbles and chicken, and finally the egg. Umm, umm, good!