Pasta Primavera Recipe with Garlic and Herbs

Our pasta primavera recipe is simple to prepare and absolutely delicious.

You can create a variety of easy dinner recipes with this one basic recipe just by varying the vegetables you use and whether you choose to add meat or seafood.

It may seem like the recipe calls for a lot of olive oil, but remember the flavored oil is the sauce. Divided among 3 or 4 people, it's not a lot of oil.

Italians call it pasta ala olio, which simply means pasta "with oil" as the sauce.

Our pasta primavera recipe is a very healthy pasta recipe.

Vegetable and Garlic Pasta

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

1/4 cup each of an assortment of fresh vegetables -mushrooms, pepper (especially red or orange for color), onions, beans (steamed first), zucchini, peas all work well
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup mixed fresh herbs, chopped (basil, chives, parsley or rosemary work well)
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 pound dry pasta

Bring a large pot of well salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until tender.

While pasta is cooking, warm oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat. Add onions and garlic and cook until softened. Add things that need a bit more cooking, like mushrooms, next. Add peppers, peas, zucchini, steamed beans (whatever you are using) and cook for a few minutes.

Add cooked hot pasta to the vegetables. Season with salt and pepper. Add fresh herbs and parmesan cheese.

Yummy!

Serves 3 to 4.

Grate your fresh parmesan cheese from a block right on to the pasta, the Italian way, with this handy cheese grater. OXO Good Grips Seal and Store Rotary Cheese Grater

• Add chicken chunks or shrimp to the pasta primavera recipe if you don't want a vegetarian meal. If you are using raw chicken, cook the chicken right after the onions and garlic. If using cooked chicken or shrimp, add them near the end and cook for 2-3 minutes to heat through.
• Good combinations of vegetables: I love onion, mushrooms and red pepper, possibly with zucchini added. Another good vegetable combination is steamed broccoli with mushrooms (no onions but lots of garlic) Sun dried tomatoes are also wonderful. Experiment and see what your favorites are.
• Add fiber by using whole wheat pasta. You may want to cook it a bit longer if you aren't used to whole wheat pasta. It can be a bit firmer.