This absolutely delicious pasta came together quite out of the blue. I originally got the asparagus, beans and snow peas to make a completely different dish, but when we got home from swimming lessons, I realised that I had some cream that had just passed its best before date that I didn’t want to go to waste.
This dish just screams spring-time to me and would be great with any spring greens (I’m thinking sauteed zucchini and zucchini flowers would be great additions), but even though it is the middle of winter here, it was still wonderful! I served it with red emperor meuniere (which is also super-easy, but looks and tastes fancy!) but it would also be great with some cooked chicken stirred through at the end, or even on its own for a light meal.
Lemon Scented Pasta Primavera
1 cup cream
zest from 2 lemons
freshly ground pepper and salt to taste
500g dried pasta – I used spirals, but farfalle would be great, too
1 bunch green asparagus, chopped
1 cup snow peas, tailed and cut in half
1 bunch green beans, tailed and cut in 1 inch pieces
1 cup frozen peas
100g Parmesan cheese, finely grated
1/2 cup fresh basil, torn
- Combine cream, lemon zest, salt and pepper, and put aside.
- Cook pasta in salted water for 4-5 minutes.
- Add vegetables to pasta, and cover with lid to return to boil. Cook for another 3-5 minutes until pasta is al dente and vegetables are tender-crisp.
- Drain pasta and vegetables, reserving 1 cup of cooking water, and return pasta to pot.
- Stir in cream mixture and Parmesan, and slowly add some of the reserved cooking water until a silky sauce forms, about half a cup.
- Toss through basil and serve.
