Pasta primavera is a springtime pasta made with fresh veggies and a vibrant pesto sauce. Serve it hot, room temp, or cold!
Pasta primavera (spring pasta) sounds Italian, but the idea was born in New York City in the 1970s, made famous at Le Cirque restaurant. The rustic dish wasn’t on the menu, but guests knew to ask for it (an early version of a secret menu!) Craig Claiborne published the recipe in the New York Times in 1977 and it exploded in popularity from there. It remained wildly popular through the 80s and 90s, and then settled down into relative obscurity. You rarely see it on menus or in cookbooks anymore which is a shame because pasta primavera was one of the most important dishes of the era. This wonderful vegetable pasta is a ritual in my kitchen every spring.
what goes into a pasta primavera?
While pasta primavera might be an American invention, it definitely draws on the core principles of Italian cooking which prioritizes fresh, seasonal ingredients and simple prep. An easy pasta is one of the best 30 minute meals!
Since the original Le Cirque recipe, there have been thousands of variations on pasta primavera. The sauce can be creamy, tomato based, or pesto based like I’ve done here. The main thing is the mix of lightly cooked spring veggies. I like to focus on green veggies that are associated with spring in my recipe, which means asparagus, green beans, pea pods, zucchini, broccoli, and spring onions, punctuated by sweet cherry tomatoes.
Breeze through your produce section as if it were your backyard garden and gather up handfuls of the freshest youngest veggies you can find. If you’ve got a spring farmers market just starting up for the season near you, even better. Choose a small zucchini, the skinniest asparagus you can find…you get the drill. The exact type of veggies is less important than that they’re young and fresh.
pesto makes a fresh spring green pasta primavera
I think it’s the pesto dressing that makes this pasta primavera stand out. It has to be fresh, but that’s no problem, it takes just a minute to make. When I make pesto, or pasta primavera in general, I don’t bother with measurements. Just stuff your processor with basil leaves, a garlic clove or two, some toasted pine nuts (or in my case today, walnuts) some grated Parm, salt, a squeeze of lemon, lots of olive oil and give it a spin. Taste and adjust. You can make the pesto a day ahead if you like, just be sure to follow my rules for keeping pesto bright green!
See my recipe for homemade pesto here.
You will throw this meal together while the pasta cooks
The veggies are ideally young and slender, and so don’t take much cooking at all. Cut or slice them in relatively equal sizes so they cook at the same rate. The key is that you want them to retain their bite, so it’s a sort of stir-fry method.
Heat olive oil in a skillet and add the veggies that take the longest to cook first, adding the rest as you go until they’re all in the pan and cooked to crisp-tender. If necessary I’ll add a splash of pasta water to the pan and cover it briefly, just to get the cooking started with a little steam.
Add the tomatoes at the last minute before tossing it all with the pasta, pesto, and grated Parm. Note: pesto is meant to be a raw sauce, so remove the pan from the burner after you’ve added it.
variations
I like to use shaped pasta because I think it makes this dish easier to eat, but you can use spaghetti or linguine if you prefer.
The original recipe for pasta primavera is made with a sauce made with chicken broth, butter, heavy cream, and Parmesan. You could channel that by adding some cream to this recipe to make a creamy pesto sauce.
Add protein like shrimp, chicken, or ham. Crispy bacon or prosciutto would also be nice.
Off the heat toss your pasta with a few good handfuls of baby arugula or spinach.
Serve each portion with a dollop of whole milk ricotta.
Serve it cold, as a pasta salad.
more healthy 30 minute meals
- Steak Fajita Bowls with Chimichurri Sauce
- Easy Lemon Thyme Lamb Chops
- Salmon with Pineapple Jalapeño Salsa
- Weeknight Peanut Butter Noodles
- Tuna and White Bean Salad
- Giada’s Lemon Spaghetti ~ a no cook sauce!
Pasta Primavera
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb shaped pasta, I used Gemelli, but fusilli or bowties would be great, too.
- 1 cup basil pesto,
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup green beans, cut into 2 inch pieces
- 1 cup slender asparagus, cut into 2 inch pieces
- 1 cup small broccoli florets
- 1 small zucchini, halved and sliced into half moons
- 1 cup pea pods, sliced on the diagonal
- 4 scallions, sliced, both white and green parts
- 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
- 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, Romano or Asiago will also work.
Instructions
- Cook the pasta to al dente in a pot of heavily salted boiling water.
- Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet or braising pan and sauté the beans, asparagus, broccoli and zucchini over medium high heat, stirring almost constantly.*I sometimes add a splash of the pasta water to the pan and cover for a minute. The steam helps cook the firmer veggies quickly,
- Add the pea pods and scallions to the pan and continue to cook for a minute or two more.
- When everything is crisp-tender and bright green, toss in the tomatoes and cheese.
- Remove from the heat and add the hot pasta to the pan along with the pesto and give everything a good toss. Add a bit of pasta water if it seems at all dry. I didn't add any salt, but taste for yourself and add if you need it.
- Serve asap with fresh cracked pepper.
