Saturday night dinner on the terrace this time of year is a perfect time to use the fresh vegetables gathered earlier in the day. Serve this pasta primavera as a light main course or the first course prelude to heartier fare. Probably depends on how hard you worked in the yard.
Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in a large pot. Add 2 tablespoons salt. Stir in 1/2-pound green fettuccine and 1/2-pound regular egg fettuccine. Cook until tender but still firm, draining immediately. Transfer the cooked pasta to a large mixing bowl. Add 1/3-cup extra-virgin olive oil and 1/2-cup finely chopped purple onion. Toss gently to combine. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
Bring another 4 quarts water to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons salt, 3/4-pound snow peas and 1/3-pound sugar snap peas. Cook for 1 minute, drain and plunge immediately into a large bowl of ice water. Let stand 10 minutes. Drain peas and pat thoroughly dry.
Add peas to the pasta in the mixing bowl along with 3/4-pound coarsely julienned proscuitto, 2 ripe plum tomatoes, quartered, 2 sweet red peppers, stemmed, cored, and cut into a fine julienne, 8 scallions, cleaned, trimmed and cut diagonally into 1/2″ pieces, and 1/2 cup fresh basil or other fresh herb to taste. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle on 4 tablespoons raspberry vinegar. Toss gently.
Toss the pasta primavera with 1/4-cup imported Parmesan cheese. Taste, correct seasoning. Arrange pasta on a serving platter. Scatter 1-cup imported black olives, of any kind and the grated zest of either 1 orange, lemon or lime over the pasta. Serve at room temperature.
Filed under: Entertaining | Tagged: Pasta Primavera
