Creamy Pasta Primavera

Sunday dinners are some of my most favorite family time; especially now that we have church in the morning. I have plenty of time to prep and cook. This week I had a bunch of fresh veggies that I needed to use up before they went bad, so I thought that pasta primavera would be perfect. And…being that while my boys do like vegetables, they snub their noses as what they call ‘exotic vegetables’…also known as squash. I also know that adding cheese helps ease their snobby attitudes. This creamy pasta primavera recipe was a hit, hands down. Keep scrolling for the recipe.

Ingredients:

1lb farfalle pasta
1 medium zucchini
1 medium yellow squash
1 red bell pepper
2-3 large carrots
3 garlic cloves
4-5 shallots
olive oil
vegetable stock
salt and pepper
basil, fresh or dried
Optional: mascarpone cheese and parmesan cheese

Directions:

While water is heating up for the pasta to cook in, dice the shallots and garlic then place in a deep frying pan or large pot that has olive oil drizzled at the bottom. Saute until the shallots begin to soften; be sure to watch the garlic so it does not burn. As soon as the water begins to boil, salt the water and then add in the farfalle, cook to al dente. While shallots and garlic cook, slice up the bell pepper, zucchini, yellow squash, and carrots into desired sizes. Since I know that my kiddos aren’t huge fans of the zucchini and yellow squash I chop those quite a bit smaller or thinner than the bell pepper and the carrots. Before adding in the chopped veggies into the pan, add a splash of vegetable stock, or chicken stock, or white wine (basically whatever you desire) to deglaze the bottom of the pan. Then add in the carrots and cook with the pan covered for 5 minutes or so. Carrots are more fibrous than the other vegetable so they take longer to soften. Next, add in the bell pepper and zucchini and cook for another 3 minutes. Lastly, add in the yellow squash and cook for another 3 minutes.

If you would like to keep this recipe vegan, vegetarian, heart healthy, and/or paleo then add in the noodles, toss, salt and pepper to taste then sprinkle with basil. If you’d like to make this a little more kid friendly, keep reading.

Mascarpone cheese is an amazing invention. If you aren’t familiar with it, it is like the Italian version of cream cheese. A little tangy, very creamy, and super yummy. It is less tangy than cream cheese so it pairs very nicely with pasta. Mascarpone cheese is one of the main ingredients in Tiramisu. I can always find it in the deli section with the other more exotic cheeses.

To make the primavera creamy, add in 8 ounces (1 container) of mascarpone cheese into the vegetables before adding the pasta. Stir until the cheese melts and causes the liquid to become creamy. Then add in the pasta. If the sauce is too thick then add in the pasta water a spoonful at a time until the sauce is desired consistency.

Plate the pasta primavera immediately. Top with parmesan cheese and if desired, fresh basil. Tonight I also served this with grilled chicken. This recipe would be equally yummy with breaded chicken patties and even a good salmon filet.