Pasta Primavera with sautéed fresh seasonal vegetables in a quick marinara sauce.
What is Pasta Primavera?
The word Primavera refers to serving with fresh vegetables; it comes from Italian (alla) primavera, or (in) spring (style). Pasta primavera is almost always an easy-to-prepare dish made with fresh seasonal vegetables.
In spring maybe with asparagus and peas, later in summer with tomatoes and courgettes. Sometimes a cream sauce is used, sometimes a marinara sauce, and sometimes just a little olive oil and shaved parmesan.
The recipe below is my mom’s favorite way to make Pasta Primavera, using whatever veggies we have on hand and some marinara sauce. It only takes 30 minutes to prepare, from start to finish. Simply!
Updated from the recipe archive. First posted in 2006.
Weeknight pasta with zucchini, eggplant and peppers
ingredients
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1/2 lb fusilli
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2 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
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1 carrotpeeled and cut into 2 x 1/2 inch strips
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1/2 Red onioncut into 1/4 inch slices
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1 Middle Zucchini, quartered lengthways, then sliced into 1/4-inch-thick slices
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1/2 small auberginecut into 1/4-inch x 1-inch slices
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1/2 paprikaany color, cut into thin strips
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Kosher salt
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1 clove garlicchopped (about 1 teaspoon)
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1/2 Cup Tomato sauce (or prepared spaghetti or marinara sauce)
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1 teaspoon Italian spice (dried thyme, oregano, basil)
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1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
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1 pint cherry tomatoeshalved
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6 basil leavesthinly sliced
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grated Parmesan optional (omit for vegan version)
method
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Cooking pasta in boiling salted water:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (1 tablespoon of salt to 2 liters of water). While the water is heating, prepare the vegetables.
Once the water is boiling, add the noodles to the water. The noodles should take about 10 minutes to cook (see packaging). Cook uncovered at a vigorous boil.
You cook the veggies while the pasta cooks so they’re ready at about the same time.
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Sauté carrots and onions:
Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add carrots and onions. Cook for about 5 minutes until the onions soften.
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Add zucchini, eggplant, peppers, garlic:
Add the zucchini, eggplant and peppers to the pan with the onions and carrots. Cook for an additional 3 to 4 minutes over medium-high heat until the vegetables are just tender.
Sprinkle the vegetables with a little salt while they cook.
Add the garlic and cook another 30 seconds. Turn off the heat but leave the pan on the stove.
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Add the diluted tomato sauce to the vegetables, season:
In a small bowl, dilute 1/2 cup tomato sauce (or spaghetti or marinara sauce) with 1/2 cup pasta water.
Stir the sauce into the vegetables. Stir in Italian seasoning and pepper. (If you’re using prepared spaghetti or marinara sauce that’s already well seasoned, you may not need as much extra seasoning, maybe just 1/2 teaspoon of the Italian seasoning.)
Add salt to taste.
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Add cooked pasta, stir in cherry tomatoes, basil, parmesan:
Once the pasta is done—cooked but still a bit firm or al dente—drain the pasta and add directly to the pan with the veggies. Adjust seasoning. Add more sauce if needed.
Gently mix in the cherry tomatoes and thinly sliced basil.
Serve with some freshly grated Parmesan, if you like.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 262 | calories |
| 8g | Fat |
| 44g | carbohydrates |
| 7g | protein |
