If you have been following along, you probably thought I should be making “My Mama’s (God Rest Her Soul) Tomato Pie”, but that was posted in March. *Click on the link to see that terrific recipe. Wouldn’t want you to miss out!
THIS WEEK, we have just as good, Fat Free (if you don’t count the cheese) Pasta Primavera by Mario Scalzo Jr. Page 134 of our book
To be honest, I think a little bit of olive oil would do this recipe good AND that little bit of healthy oil would help deliver all the nutrients held in those fresh veggies to the cells in our body. That’s what fat does, it helps deliver nutrition from the foods we eat to cells and tissue in our body. We need fat, at least the healthy kind.
This is a terrific recipe. It’s easy and booming with fresh veggies right from your late Fall garden.
Pasta Primavera
- *Mario didn’t list measurements. What you see is what AppleCrumbles used in her version of Pasta Primavera.
- Enough Vegetable broth to cover 1/2 inch up the sides of a pan.
- 2 tsp. minced garlic
- 2 green onions, sliced (white and green parts)
- 1 lb asparagus, cut into 1” pieces
- 5 plum tomatoes, cut into thick chunks
- 6 to 8 oz fresh baby spinach
- fresh basil (enough to suit your taste and….make sure it’s FRESH!)
- salt and pepper to taste
- Grated Parmesan Cheese
- 12 oz pasta (I used Wacky Mac Veggie pasta, but farfalle, penne, cut ziti, linguine, fettuccine, any of your favorites would work)
Cook pasta in salted water and keep it to a slow boil, to cook al dente.
Put the broth in another pan (1/2 inch up the sides), add the garlic, onions, and asparagus. Bring to a simmering boil.
When the pasta is just about cooked, add the tomatoes, spinach, basil, pepper and salt to the broth, stir and simmer 2 minutes.
Drain pasta, add to the broth and toss. Top with grated cheese.
This dish a great power house dish.
It’s filling, flavorful, fascinating, fetching, and fresh. It prompts one’s attempt to play with words. 
What’s your take on fat? Do you regard it as a healthy part of your diet or do you avoid it at all costs?
What’s your favorite word to describe a super good meal?
This is a lovely pasta – the spinach is wonderful as are the fresh veggies. I wouldn’t hesitate to add health building fats to this dish such as olive oil, avocado, nuts and seeds (monounsaturated fats are the basis of the much revered Mediterranean diet). It disturbs me how mislead the public is with respect to the role of fat and its importance in the diet. The result is a global fear of this vital macronutrient. I battle this mindset every day in my clinical practise. Cheers, k.
I’m with you in terms of adding the olive oil. I have a diet with a lot of nuts (maybe too many) but always include olive oil.