This recipe was delicious. Easy to make - you can blanche the veggies ahead of time and then throw the rest together as you cook the pasta. It cam eout perfectly - made quite a bit but would make the whole thing again because the leftovers were delicious re-heated too. Just blanching the vegetables made them so fresh in the pasta. Big success at our house.
Spaghetti Alla Primavera
I believe it started in 1975, when I visited Prince Edward Island with a number of colleagues, including Craig Claiborne of the New York Times. To eat we had only lobster and wild boar. After a week of this, everyone said, "Can we have some pasta?" I set out to make two dishes, one with vegetables, one Alfredo style. But in the end I mixed it all together, vegetables with spaghetti and cream. After Claiborne wrote about it in the Times, everybody started to come to Le Cirque and ask for spaghetti alla primavera. But my French chef said, "You want to do spaghetti? I don't want spaghetti in my kitchen!" I didn't want a crisis. So I decided to prepare it in the dining room, on a cart, tableside. It looked nice, and it tasted nice. We've never put it on the menu, but people still ask for it. —Sirio Maccioni, co-owner of Le Cirque restaurant in New York City
Enlarge Image
Credit: Todd Coleman
INGREDIENTS
6 tbsp. olive oil3 cloves garlic, minced
6 oz. button mushrooms, quartered
1 cup asparagus tips, blanched
1 cup small broccoli florets, blanched
½ cup frozen peas, blanched
1 small zucchini, quartered lengthwise, cut to 1" lengths, blanched
1 lb. spaghetti, cooked al dente
1 cup heavy cream
⅔ cup grated Parmesan
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
2 tbsp. thinly shredded basil
½ cup lightly toasted pine nuts
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Heat 5 tbsp. oil in a 12" skillet over medium heat. Add ⅔ of the garlic; cook until golden, about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms; cook until golden, about 3 minutes. Add asparagus, broccoli, peas, and zucchini; cook 3 minutes. Add pasta, cream, Parmesan, and butter, season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine; transfer to a platter.2. Bring remaining oil and garlic, tomatoes, and basil to a simmer over medium heat; pour over pasta; garnish with nuts.
See all 150 classic recipes featured in our 150th issue »
Ratings & Reviews (3)
This takes a lot of prep time, but it's a good way to get your veggies.
This is so delicious and so easy to make! We are not mushroom fans, so I leave those out, and I use fettuccini, and this is a really beautiful dish. The toasted pine nuts...genius!
Spaghetti Alla Primavera
5
5
3
3
