I think pasta dishes shine when they are simple and take advantage of the best ingredients. Like when you feel all super fancy and reach for the real parmegiano reggiano instead of the pre-shredded stuff in the tubs.
Late spring and summer is a bounty of delicious vegetables, with a special bonus that they’re also usually much MUCH cheaper this time of year. After having a tasty pasta dish out on a date night a few weeks ago, I’ve been experimenting with my own spring pasta dishes at home.
What I’ve come to realize is that this isn’t so much a recipe as it is a formula. All the components are interchangeable, and each of the permutations results in something incredibly fresh and delicious.
This is a choose your own adventure pasta dish.
So, here it is.
Nuts
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Spring vegetables
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Sliced garlic
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Olive oil or butter
+
Grated hard cheese
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1 lb Pasta
=
Out of this world spring pasta dinner
Nuts can be pine nuts, hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts, or pecans. Preferably chopped.
Spring vegetables include: artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, corn, peas, wild mushrooms, and spinach. Pick 2 to 3 vegetables. Chop into small chunks.
Hard cheese could be Parmegiano Reggiano (Parmesan), Pecorino Romano, aged Asiago, or Gorgonzola (you have to love blue cheese for that one to work.) Grated. (If you’re vegan or can’t eat dairy, it’s easy enough to leave the cheese out, which I did in the photo above.)
Here is how you put it all together.
Slice 3 or 4 (or more!) cloves of garlic into thin slices.
Put a large pot of pasta water on high heat. Adequately salt the water (it should taste briney.)
Turn a heavy skillet on to medium high heat. Add some olive oil and your chopped nuts. Nothing in the world smells better than nuts toasting on a skillet. Keep a close eye on them to make sure they don’t burn. After a few minutes of toasting, put them into a small bowl and set aside.
Now, it’s time to prepare each of the vegetables. If any of the vegetables need to be cooked a certain way (mushrooms, corn, artichokes), cook seperately and set it aside with your nuts.
I blackened the corn now, in the same skillet, then set it aside with the pine nuts. Next, I browned the mushrooms in the same skillet and set aside with the corn and pine-nuts.
Keep an eye on your pasta water to see if it’s boiling. When it starts boiling, dump in a box of pasta. Set a timer to whatever time the box says. (This helps you not forget about it while dealing with rest of the dish.)
Next, add more oil to your skillet and saute the easy-to-cook vegetables like broccoli or peas on medium heat. Sprinkle with salt. Add in the sliced garlic. As those ingredients soften (5-10 min), add your nuts and other vegetables back into the mix and reduce heat to low. Taste and add in more salt if needed, and also add pepper.
Once the pasta is ready, dump out the water and return the pasta to your pot. Next, dump in the vegetable concoction. Add in a tablespoon or two of butter. Fold the ingredients together. Taste and add more salt or pepper. (I love the combination of pepper and hard cheeses, so don’t be scared to add a lot of pepper.)
Top with grated cheese before serving.
