Pasta Primavera

For today's recipe we have an all-time classic! We are making a colourful Pasta primavera loaded with veggies and a ton of flavour. This veggie pasta dish is what cooking light and easy is all about! 

I'm a huge fan of pasta primavera and everyone at home loves it as well. We have this pasta dish probably once a week. And it's a great option to take with you to dinner parties or if you plan to eat outside. 

I added this recipe to my "save-the-day" list for many reasons. You can make it in about 25 minutes, it's super affordable, and it's made with simple and fresh ingredients. And it has pasta! Who doesn't love pasta?

We usually travel to Italy whenever we think of pasta. But Pasta Primavera is actually a North American dish. There are different versions of its invention, some people claim it was invented in Canada, other say it was the USA.

What we do know is that the dish became really popular in New York City around the mid-'70s. It was served at a very renowned restaurant in Manhattan where it never made it to the menu. It was an unlisted special that customers loved and couldn't get enough of. 

Nowadays, Pasta Primavera has made its way around the world and it has become a classic. You will find different versions of it but the main idea is having lightly cooked vegetables mixed with pasta and very few seasonings.

I included a bunch of different coloured veggies so we have a good variety of nutrients. I used carrots, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, asparagus, red bell pepper, and zucchini. We will get a bunch of healthy benefits and the dish looks so beautiful and inviting. 

You don't need much seasoning for this veggie pasta. The vegetables are doing all the work when it comes to flavour. I simply sauté the veggies with a little bit of olive oil. First I tossed minced garlic and shallots, which also adds enough flavour to the overall dish.

I like to have a bit of a crunch when I eat this pasta so I don't go overboard when cooking the veggies. I start with the carrots which take a bit longer to cook. Then I added the broccoli and bell peppers. And towards the end I threw in the asparagus, tomatoes, and zucchini since these veggies only need a couple of minutes on the pan.

The original recipe is pretty much vegan already except for the parmesan cheese. I used a vegan version made with cashew nuts and nutritional yeast. It's really easy to make, I added the instructions below, but pretty much you just put a few ingredients through the food processor or a blender. 

I like tossing the pasta on the skillet so that everything is warm when I am ready to serve it. But if it's too messy or your pan is not big enough you can always transfer everything to a bowl and mix it there. 

Serve this delicious Pasta Primavera in a bowl, sprinkle a bit of the nut parmesan on top, and go at it!