One Pot Spring Pasta Primavera

We interrupt our Italy trip at the three fourths point (with Sorrento to come) to say that we got home on May 11, after a 24 hour day, so I’ll be interspersing the trip with normal posts beginning with this one – can you believe it’s pasta – to use some of our asparagus.  The recipe for One Pot Spring Pasta Primavera is courtesy of the “Flavor Of The Moment” blog and I doubled it (as shown below) to use the full pound of pasta and asparagus and to have leftovers. 

One Pot Spring Pasta Primavera

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 lb. mushrooms stems removed and sliced

1 lb. asparagus tough stems removed, cut into 1″ pieces on the bias

2 leek white and light green parts only, sliced into half moons

2 cup fresh or frozen peas thawed if frozen

6 cloves garlic minced

5 cups low sodium vegetable stock sub with water

1 lb. uncooked short cut pasta

1½ cup heavy cream

2 lemons zested and juiced (5 tbsp)

1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

2/3 cup chopped fresh basil sub with 2 teaspoon dried basil (dried herbs should be added in step 3 with the cream)

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Heat a large skillet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the sliced mushrooms and pinch of salt and sauté until browned and somewhat softened, about 5 minutes.

2. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan, and add the asparagus and leek. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the asparagus is crisp tender, then add the peas and garlic and cook 30 seconds longer. Place the cooked vegetables in a bowl and set aside.

3. Add the stock or water to the pot and scrape any bits from the bottom of the pan.

4. Add the pasta and stir. Bring to a boil, then add the cream. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook at a high simmer until the pasta is tender, about 10-12 minutes depending on the type of pasta used. If the liquid has evaporated and the pasta is not done yet, add up to a 1/2 cup more liquid and continue cooking. 

5. Add the vegetables back to pot during the last 30 seconds of cooking to warm them through.

6. When the pasta is done, remove from heat and stir in the lemon zest, juice, parmesan cheese and fresh basil. 

7. Taste and add salt and pepper, to taste. 

8. Serve with additional parmesan cheese as desired and enjoy!

We began the Italian meal with bread dunked in olive oil and balsamic vinegar - Bev likes lots of the vinegar.

The Verdict:

We thought it was delicious and a great use of the asparagus.  I ended up with too much liquid so next time I’ll add one cup less water to start or be prepared with a cornstarch slurry to thicken the liquid.  

Photos can be slightly enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

5/16/25 event dates