Pasta Primavera

When I was a kid I loved pasta primavera! There are no Italian restaurants around me that have it on the menu. Perhaps it's considered too rustic these days.

One place I tried had a "build your own pasta" thing. I asked the waitress if they could just make me the primavera--I don't really know what's in it--but surely the chefs can accommodate.

That day I learned there is a difference between a cook and a chef.

The waitress came back and said the cooks don't know that dish, can't do it.

I'm not sure if they genuinely didn't know, or were just putting a hard no on custom orders (remember, a feature of their menu was literally "make your own.")

Make my own I did!

It all begins with chopping veggies and sweating them with some olive oil. I use garlic slivers, halved cherry tomatoes, quartered mushrooms, diced zucchini, and fresh basil. Blanch any crunchier vegetables (broccoli, asparagus, etc.) in boiling water for around half a minute to a minute before adding to the rest of the pan.



For the final product I also love shrimp! Add some butter, heavy cream, and some parmesan to the mixture and that's all it takes! Toss with your favorite pasta and cheap wine. Texas toast why not.

a reply to: 2Narcoleptic2Buddha

It might become a thing again in the restaurant world, wedge salads are returning. I make Primavera with the changing seasonal veggies. Summer it's a staple in my home.
I sometimes make it like a succutash, and instead of larger prices of pasta like linguini or penne, or Farro like you'd put in a traditional succutash, I use orzo, makes a good side dish.

a reply to: 2Narcoleptic2Buddha

Looks delicious

I have never heard of that stuff, it does look good though. Never saw it on a menu at any Italian restaurants we have gone to either.

I like most Italian food, but I cannot eat tomatoes too often because it effects my skin and guts. Parmesan cheese seems to moderate the reaction somewhat, so does garlic salt. If I eat tomatoes like once a week, it does not cause me much problem, so we have things like spaghetti, lasagna, pizza, and other tomato based dishes once a week, the wife has no problem with them, she eats all the leftovers. Other things that trigger that reaction are sardines and mackeral, and foods containing lycopene chemistry. Also extra virgin olive oil seems to trigger it, but not the refined olive oil that much. Yet I can eat olives but I also just eat a couple of them occasionally. Not piles of them like some people do.

Most people do not have that problem I have, and I like Italian foods and some tomato products, so I paid attention and I learned how to keep these food chemistries regulated so I can still eat them somewhat. I must not produce enough of a specific enzyme to metabolize these foods properly. Learned not to eat pickled herring and spaghetti in the same week....actually, I can go about every fifth day, but if I eat a big tomato meal once a week, I can have a LITTLE of the other products in moderation too