One-Pot Pasta Primavera

Ingredients

•  cloves garlic, smashed    2
•  kosher salt, divided   2 1/2 teaspoons
•  unsalted butter, at room temperature and divided          6 tablespoons
•  finely grated lemon zest (from 1 lemon)  1 tablespoon
•  dry short pasta, such as penne rigate, fusilli, or orecchiette    12 ounces
•  shallot, minced   1 medium
• 6 asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces on the diagonal
•  zucchini, diced   1 small
• julienned carrots (about 3 ounces)     1 cup 
• diced orange or yellow bell pepper     3/4 cup 
•  Broccolini, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 3 ounces) 1 1/4 cups
•  sugar snap peas, strings removed and halved on the diagonal (about 2 ounces)      1/2 cup
•  fresh or frozen peas     1/2 cup
•  cherry tomatoes, halved     10
• grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving    3/4 cup 
•  thinly sliced basil      2 tablespoons
• red pepper flakes   1 Pinch

Steps for Pasta Primavera

1.Garlic-lemon butter: Mash the garlic and salt into a paste with the side of your knife. The sharp flavor of the garlic is tempered, making it rounder, sweeter, and less pungent. And since you won't be cooking the garlic — it simply melts in at the end of cooking — you won't feel the pungent heat that you normally experience from eating raw garlic. Stir in butter and lemon zest until combined. This is the foundation of the light, lemony sauce that ties the dish together at the end.

Cook Pasta in A Pan:  

In the wake of sautéing shallots, include the pasta, heated water, and salt to a substantial pot (yes, snatch a pot that you believe is too extensive — you'll require additional room, as the pasta grows and for the armloads of vegetables included toward the end). Heat it to the point of boiling at that point cook the pasta until still somewhat firm. Watch out for the pasta, blending once in a while to ensure the noodles don't adhere to the base of the pot. This decreased bit of pasta cooking water is intentionally, as the bland fluid is the base of the sauce.

Add Vegetables: With the vegetables chop down to estimate, they should all cook in around two minutes. Cull a couple of pieces out and taste. You'll know the dish is prepared to serve when the vegetables light up in shading and their surface is fresh delicate.

Finishing

To keep the tomatoes unblemished, blend them in toward the end with a bunch of Parmesan cheddar and the garlic-lemon spread. The spread melts into the dull cooking fluid, wedding pasta with vegetables in a luxurious, rich sauce. The pasta retains the light, lemony sauce as it sits, so serve immediately with a sprinkling of red pepper chips, crisp basil, and more Parmesan cheddar.

 

• Note
• Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
• Vegetables can be chopped and refrigerated in an airtight container up to 1 day in advance.