Just another day on my COVID-19 watch. T.G.I.S. (Thank God It’s Someday!)

The weekend is coming up and it’s going to be HOT One! Even though I have been doing a pretty good job of eating healthy during these crazy days, I think it’s a good idea to step away from all protein-all the time thinking and eat a little lighter! I do like my protein though, and even though I am making Pasta Primavera which is typically an all veggie and pasta dish, I could not stop myself from adding some well seasoned and spicy shrimp to the mix. I am glad I did too, for that extra texture and spice were a great addition to the dish.

For my pasta, I used Ditalini. Many people use a penne or bow tie pasta. Ditalini is a great pasta in that it holds the sauce well and fits perfectly on our spoon!

Most of you readers might be thinking that Pasta Primavera is an Italian dish, but the fame of pasta primavera traces back to a New York City restaurant Le Cirque, where it first appeared in the 1970s. That might answer your question as to why I am using Herbes de Provence instead of Italian Herbs as an ingredient. If you prefer to use an Italian Herb mixture, that is fine too. The dish will taste awesome!

Enjoy this dish and as always, thanks for Spending Time in My Kitchen!

Pasta Primavera

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Recipe by David Frank – Spending Time In My Kitchen

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Ingredients

1/4 cup 1/4 Olive oil
2 2 Carrots, cut thin 2 inch long sticks
2 small 2 Zucchini, small quarters
2 2 Yellow squash, small quarters
1 Medium 1 Onion, cut in half, then thin slices
1 Yellow 1 Bell Pepper, thin slices
1 Red 1 Bell Pepper, thin slices
8 Oz 8 Cherry tomatoes, cut in half
Salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbl 1 Herbes de Provence (Italian herbs can be used if not available)
1/2 lb 1/2 Ditalini (See note below)
1/2 cup 1/2 Parmesan, grated
Basil, rolled tight and sliced thin to garnish
Primavera Sauce
2 Tbl 2 Butter
16 oz 16 Vegetable broth
1/2 cup 1/2 Heavy cream (optional)
1/2 cup 1/2 Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup 1/2 Pasta water (if needed)
1 tsp 1 Red pepper flakes
2 cloves 2 Garlic, minced or 2 tsp garlic powder
Optional: Shrimp
1 lb 1 Shrimp, cleaned and deveined
1 Tbl 1 Olive oil
2 Tbl 2 Butter
1 tsp 1 Sweet paprika
1 clove 1 Garlic, minced
2 tsp 2 Lemon juice
1/2 tsp 1/2 Cayenne
2 tsp 2 Salt
1 tsp 1 Herbes de Provence

Directions

Set oven temperature to 375°
Put pasta pot on water. Set to boil. Add enough salt to “taste like the ocean”.
Add cut vegetables to a baking tray/cooking sheet. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and “herbes de Provence” over veggies. Drizzle olive oil over veggies. Place the tray into the oven. (It may seem like you have a lot of veggies, but the roasting will reduce them in size.)
While veggies are roasting, place your pasta into the boiling pasta water and cook until “al dente“; with still a little bit of a bite. It should take about 10 minutes.
Roast veggies until still a little bite to them (al dente); approximately 20 minutes. When done cooking, take veggies out of the oven and place them in a large skillet or pan.
Prepare sauce.
When pasta is done (al dente); remove from water and put into the large skillet and toss with the roasted veggies.
Add prepared sauce to the pan of veggies and pasta. Stir and combine well. If the sauce in the pasta is too thick, add more broth until sauce thins to the desired texture. If too thin, add more cheese and a little pasta water; your choice.
Serve in separate plates. Add sauteed shrimp to individual plates and garnish with sliced basil. Enjoy!!
Prepare the Primavera Sauce
Melt butter in a large skillet/saute pan.
Saute garlic until aromatic. Do not burn.
Add broth, cream, and Parmesan cheese to the pan. Turn heat to simmer. Stir until heated for approximately 2 minutes.
After veggies and pasta has been tossed together, pour completed sauce in with the veggies and pasta and toss together.
Shrimp (Optional)
Add all spices and seasonings into a bowl except for the garlic and mix well. Place shrimp in the bowl and toss well.
Heat up cast iron pan over medium-high heat. Add oil and butter to the pan.
Add garlic to pan, stir and let cook for about 20 seconds. Do not burn the garlic.
Add shrimp to the pan. Stir and cook till shrimp are no longer translucent. Do not overcook. Shrimp cook very fast!
Pull shrimp from the heat and set aside to serve with the pasta.

Notes

You can delete the cream if it doesn’t fit into your diet. You can always thicken your sauce by adding some of your pasta water, and/or more Parmesan cheese.
Don’t hesitate to try various types of veggies you may have on hand in your fridge. Roasting all veggies, in my humble opinion, brings out the best in all of them!