Pasta Primavera combines ribbons of vegetables with thin strands of pasta in a light cheese sauce.
![](https://weelicious.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Pasta-Primavera-3-1.jpg)
How delicious and gourmet does that sound? Well, it’s easy to make, too. And the best part of making this recipe was watching Kenya down bite after bite of it.
The idea for this dish came to me after dreaming of a heavenly dish my mother used to make when I was growing up. However, her recipe called for heavy cream. I tried to lighten the sauce in my version (without giving up on flavor) by using some of the starchy water from the pasta along with a little butter and Parmesan cheese.
![](https://weelicious.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Pasta-Primavera-2-1.jpg)
Me and the kids had so much fun at the farmer’s market buying all the veggies that go into Pasta Primavera, but you should feel free to use any vegetables you have on hand. The possibilities are endless. You could even try peas, broccoli or anything that’s fresh and in season. The julienned vegetables are so beautiful and thin, even kids who normally turn their noses up at them will only see the gorgeous colors in each bite and have a hard time resisting it.
![](https://weelicious.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Pasta-Primavera-1-1.jpg)
Take your kids to the farmers market or grocery and let them choose the veggies that you’ll toss into this Pasta Primavera. Tag me @weelicious on social media so I can see your delicious dinners!
![](https://weelicious.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Pasta-Primavera-thumbnail-1-300x300.jpg)
Pasta Primavera
Ingredients
- 2 zucchini
- 2 carrots, peeled
- 6 asparagus spears
- 1 small red bell pepper, cored
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus additional for pasta water
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated
Instructions
- Julienne the vegetables with a knife or in a food processor using the shredding blade.
- Cook pasta according to package directions in salted water.
- While the pasta cooks, place the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat.
- Sauté the garlic for 1 minute. Add the vegetables and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes. Stir in the salt.
- Strain the pasta, reserving 1/3 cup of the pasta water. Place the pasta, reserved water, vegetables, butter and Parmesan cheese in a bowl.
- Toss to combine, and serve.
The pasta and veggies came out fine, but the cheese, when added, just clumped, so instead of a delicious cheesy pasta we had a very bland pasta + veggies + giant cheese ball. This was after extremely vigorous efforts to combine all the ingredients. This would be a lot better if a cheese sauce were made on the side, then combined, vs. dumping everything in one pot and trying to get it all the mesh. I’m searching for a simple sauce recipe that I can use to fix this dish as my family wasn’t impressed.
This looks wonderful (and easily adapted for vegan adults) : )
Just made this for my 21 month old daughter and she enjoyed it. Thank you for an easy, quick and yummy recipe.
Loved the receipe <3 Just made it .. All thanks to you !!
Step 4! After sauteeing the veggies!
Where are you using the 1 tsp salt? Thanks!
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This is absolutely AMAZING! My 15 month old is very picky about food, right now, and ate this. As a matter of fact…she cleaned her plate. This will be added to our rotation. Thanks so much!
Wow, not sure what took me so long to make this. This is so easy to make and so yummy! My 14mo old are two servings for lunch.
This is excellent! The whole family loved it! We finished the left overs for lunch today!