Creamy Pasta Primavera with Linguine
Linguine tossed in a Parmesan cream sauce with mushrooms, asparagus, broccolini, peas, snow peas, and cherry tomatoes, topped with basil and pine nuts.
Equipment
- Large pot
- Large skillet
- Medium saucepan
- Tongs
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 10 oz linguine or fettuccine
- 1 tbsp kosher salt for the pasta water
- ⅓ cup pasta cooking water reserved just before draining
- 5 oz white mushrooms sliced
- 4 oz zucchini cut into 1/4 inch rounds
- 1 bunch broccolini about 6 oz, trimmed
- 1 ½ cup snow peas
- 1 bunch asparagus about 8 to 10 spears, cut into 2 inch pieces
- 1 cup green peas frozen, defrosted
- 10 cherry tomatoes halved
- 2 cloves garlic finely minced
- 5 tbsp unsalted butter for the cream sauce
- 1 cup heavy cream for the cream sauce
- ½ cup Parmesan finely grated, for the cream sauce
- ½ tsp kosher salt for the cream sauce
- ¼ tsp black pepper for the cream sauce
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil for the vegetables
- ½ cup fresh basil leaves thinly sliced, for serving
- 2 tbsp pine nuts toasted, for serving
Instructions
Cooking
- Boil the linguine. Cook the pasta in a large pot of well salted water for 9 to 10 minutes until al dente. Ladle out 1/3 cup of the cooking water, then drain. Simmer the cream sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, cook the garlic for 30 seconds, and add the cream. Simmer gently for 3 minutes without boiling hard.
- Add the Parmesan. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the Parmesan, 1/2 tsp salt, and the pepper until smooth.
- Brown the firm vegetables. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat and cook the mushrooms, zucchini, and asparagus for 4 minutes.
- Add the tender vegetables. Stir in the broccolini, snow peas, peas, and cherry tomatoes and cook 4 to 5 minutes until crisp tender.
- Toss. Fold the drained linguine and the cream sauce into the vegetables, adding pasta water by the spoonful until the sauce coats the noodles.
- Garnish. Serve in warm bowls topped with the basil and toasted pine nuts.
Notes
Substitutions: Use half cream and half whole milk for a lighter sauce, and swap the pine nuts for toasted almonds.
Tips: Cut the vegetables to a similar size and keep the cream at a gentle simmer.
Storage: Refrigerate up to 3 days and reheat gently with a splash of cream or pasta water to 165 degrees F. Do not freeze.