Pasta Primavera

Start with "soffritto" which is celery, carrot, and onion in about equal amounts diced and sauteed in olive oil. Garlic and other flavorings may be added if wanted.

1/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic

Heat thin-sliced garlic slowly in oil until it begins to darken. Then add:

1/2 c. diced carrot
1/2 c. diced celery
1/2 c. diced onion

note: experiment, but in the end you may decide to go heavy on the onion and light on the celery. Celery can be very dominant.

When the soffritto is well softened, lift it out of the pan to a holding dish, allowing the oil to drip back into the pan.


Prepare Vegetables

Any vegetable can be used in pasta primavera though colorful Spring vegetables are more usual. ("Primavera" means springtime.)

Carrots, zucchini, yellow squash, and red onion slices

Cut vegetables in a shape to reflect the shape of the pasta you plan to use. Because on this occasion my pasta is spaghetti, I cut the vegetables in longish strips. For vegetables I used what I had on hand: yellow summer squash, zucchini, carrot, and red onion.

Turn up the heat to medium-high, wait for the pan to get hot, and add 
the vegetable strips. Allow it to cook unstirred for 3-4 minutes,
then turn with a spatula and give it a couple of minutes more. Fast hot cooking gets the veggies done while leaving them colorful and crisp.  If you have starchy pasta water nearby, toss in a quarter cup of it to 
stop the cooking (it will all boil off quickly) and to give a sheen to 
the vegetables.

Toss soffritto with your pasta, in the frying pan if pasta has become cold.

Slide the spaghetti into a plate or bowl and top with a generous amount of vegetables and some Parmesan cheese.

Pasta Primavera with gluten-free rice spaghetti

 

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

This dish is #97 on the Baker's Dozen Challenge Countdown.