Pasta Primavera

In another effort to incorporate more vegetables into my diet, I decided to add them to one of my favorite things, pasta!  When I think pasta, I think of Giada.  Consequently, I pulled out Everyday Italian and selected the "Pasta Primavera."  Here in Southern California our weather is pretty mild and produce is abundant for most of the year, so I figured I could stretch the "spring" reference in this recipe.  Are you ready for some spring in August?  Me too!



Fixins:

• 3 carrots, peeled
• 2 medium zucchini
• 2 yellow summer squash
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 EVOO
• 1 Tbs dried Italian herbs
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp pepper
• 1 lb dried farfalle pasta
• 15 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

Preheat the oven and cut the veggies into strips.  On a baking sheet, toss the veggies with the olive oil, dried herbs, salt and pepper.  We bought some fancy blood orange olive oil for our anniversary and I couldn't wait to break it out for roasting the veggies.  It added a great citrus brightness to this dish.  Roast the veggies in the oven for about 20 minutes, stirring once.  In the meantime, cook the pasta in salted water according to package directions.  Reserve some cooking liquid when you drain the pasta.  Really go for al dente with this as it will cook a little more once all of the warm components are combined.  I cooked it a little long and it was on the mushy side by dinner time.  Toss the cooked pasta with the roasted veggies, then add the cherry tomatoes and enough cooking liquid to moisten.  Season with salt and pepper to taste, then sprinkle with Parmesan.

Result:

This dish is hearty and flavorful without being overly rich or heavy.  The veggies are so fortifying and I felt very nourished after eating my little bowlful.  Or two.  Whatever!  All of the sugars in the veggies have come to the forefront in the roasting process, and the fancy olive oil really added to the aromatics of the dish.  I overcooked the pasta, so this didn't reheat well, but I imagine if you did it right, it would be a lovely lunch the next day.

Repeat:

Wholeheartedly, yes!  Pasta Primavera is so versatile, and you could really customize this to whatever fresh veggies you have on hand.  You could use whole wheat pasta to bump up the nutritional value, or use a different set of herbs or cheese to change the flavor profile completely.  Yummy, yummy, yummy!

What's your favorite pasta & veggie combo dish?  I'd love to try it!