Description
This Pasta Primavera is everything a spring or summer dinner needs. It’s light on calories, big on flavor, and bursting with all the colorful seasonal vegetables. So good, we could eat this every night.
Ingredients
Scale
- 14–16 oz dry pasta, such as spaghetti
- 4 TB extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1 onion, chopped
- 8 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- 2 cups matchstick carrots
- 1 large red bell peppers, seeded and thinly sliced
- 1 large yellow squash/zucchini, sliced
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
- 1 1/2 TB dried Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 TB cornstarch
- 2 cups regular strength chicken broth
- Garnish: Freshly grated parmesan cheese, freshly sliced basil leaves
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of generously salted water to boil. Cook pasta according to package instructions, just to al dente; do not overcook. When pasta is done, reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water and set it aside. Return drained pasta to pot and drizzle cooked/drained with enough oil to prevent sticking; cover to keep warm.
- While pasta is cooking: heat olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and stir 2-3 min. or until softened. Add garlic, stirring 1 minute. Add broccoli and carrots, stirring 2-3 min. Add bell pepper and cook another 2 min. Add the squash/zucchini, tomatoes, and mushrooms, stirring 2-3 minutes or just until all veggies are softened to your preference.
- Add Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper to the veggie mixture, stirring to combine well. Dissolve 1 TB cornstarch in 2 cups chicken broth; when fully dissolved, add to the veggie mixture and bring to a boil until thickened.
- Pour veggie mixture over cooked pasta in pot. Gently toss to combine; add some of the reserved pasta water if needed. Add additional kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste (I add about 1/4 tsp here.) Serve immediately with freshly grated parmesan and fresh basil.
Notes
Leftovers are delicious, but may need to be “thinned out” with additional broth upon reheating.
- Category: main, dinner
- Cuisine: Italian