One Pot Primavera

Happy St. Patrick's Day! While this is clearly not a traditional Irish dish, I figured it could count as Irish-ish because of its bright green color - right?? And I ate a lot of peas when I was in Ireland, so that counts too...right?? Anywho, on St. Patrick's Day, I always reflect on the wonderful summer I spent studying abroad in Ireland as well as marking my parents wedding anniversary. Today would have been 35 years! Hard to believe that it's been six years since we lost my dad, but St. Patrick's always makes me smile and think of him - my mother chose to marry him on the holiday because he was a true Irishman through and through, so she wanted to make it easy to remember their anniversary. Too cute, yes?



Now again, this recipe isn't Irish, but it sure is good. If you're looking to get more green in your life (perhaps in the form of veggies), this is a great place to start. Love pasta but don't want a heavy cream sauce? Then this is definitely for you. An excellent blend of veggies and noodles, topped off with a wee bit of cheese and you're all set. And this would be an easy recipe to modify - there's no rule that say broccoli (or brocclini in our case), asparagus and peas are the way to go, though I do recommend keeping the peas. Peas are great. But if you wanted to throw in a leafy green like spinach or kale, I don't see why you couldn't! Anywho, enjoy the holiday today as well as this dish anyday!

Cooking Notes: We use broccolini, not broccoli crowns. We also only used 1 lb. of asparagus. We did not use the mushrooms, like the original recipe called for. We used 3, not 4, garlic cloves. We used fresh peas, not frozen, and increased the amount a little. We did not have lemon zest.

One Pot Primavera (adapted from Oh My Veggies; serves 4-6)
4 cups veggie broth
8 oz. linguine, uncooked
1 small onion, halved and sliced thin
1 lb. broccolini
1 lb. asparagus, ends snapped off and cut into 2" pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flake
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
8 oz. fresh English peas
1 small handful parsley, chopped
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tbsp + grated Parmesan cheese
S&P, to taste

Add the broth, linguine, onion, broccolini, asparagus, peas, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to a large pot over high heat. Drizzle the olive oil over top. As soon as it comes to a boil, set the timer for 7 minutes, tossing constantly with long-handled tongs. Continue boiling and tossing; when 7 minutes is done, add the parsley, heavy whipping cream, and Parmesan, then continue cooking, continuing to toss, for 1-2 more minutes, until the pasta and veggies appear tender. Remove from heat. Let the pasta sit for a couple minutes to cool, allowing the sauce to thicken slightly. Taste and add additional S&P if desired, garnish with extra Parmesan and enjoy!

Recipe: Oh My Veggies: One Pot Pasta Primavera