A couple of weeks ago when our highs all seemed to be hitting 90° it felt like we had skipped spring and gone straight into summer. Last weekend our heatwave broke (we even had a little rain yesterday) which helped us remember it was actually spring!
Primavera means spring in both Italian and Spanish. We enjoy making primavera by selecting whatever vegetables are in season when we go to the market, then coming home and using them up. This is exactly what we did with the asparagus, broccolini, and mushrooms we picked up last Sunday at Nugget Market.
The funny thing about grocery shopping is how quickly you can convince yourself to turn off your filters. As soon as we saw the asparagus we wanted it for our primavera. It didn’t even cross my mind to check where it was from. I convinced myself it would be impossible for this asparagus to not be from California. After all we are in the middle of asparagus season and had just enjoyed Stockton’s asparagus festival the weekend before.
So the asparagus was purchased without a second thought and it wasn’t until I started cooking that I noticed “Washington” staring at me from the rubber band holding the asparagus stalks together. It’s not like the state of Washington is across the globe or even across the country from California, but I do find it ironic that a California grocery store chain would source asparagus from a grower outside of the golden state! Note to self: farmer’s markets, farmer’s markets, farmer’s markets.
Ingredients
- Pasta
- Fresh vegetables (we used asparagus, broccolini and mushrooms)
- Butter
- Garlic
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce
- 2 lemons
- Basil
- Salt and pepper
- Parmesan cheese
Directions
Bring water to boil for the pasta while preparing your vegetables. The vegetables should be chopped or sliced into bite sized pieces. Add the pasta and cook it according to your pasta’s directions.
Saute each vegetable separately in a large skillet over medium heat with a tablespoon of butter until they start to soften, then set them aside. Add the garlic near the end of your last saute cycle.
Empty the skillet then add the tomato sauce, heavy cream, basil and juice from the lemons. Simmer the sauce until it thickens slightly. Salt and pepper to taste. Add all of the sauteed vegetables back to the sauce and simmer for a minute or two prior to plating.
Dish out your pasta, add some of the sauce and vegetables, then top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Enjoy!
Lolo’s Dad
loloslunch 
I love Pasta Primavera, and yours sounds delicious; I’ll try the combination. It’s spring here in Michigan too, we have an asparagus festival going on in Empire on Lake Michigan.
That’s great, I didn’t know they had an asparagus festival in Empire. As you know I love spring and summer in Michigan. We hoped to get back this year, but unfortunately we may have to wait until next year.