A super healthy pasta dish filled with colorful vegetables and packed with nutrients, pasta primavera makes a light and refreshing meal anytime of the week. This recipe contains zero meat so you can serve it to vegetarian guests. You can use rotini or fusilli for the pasta, and cook it according to the package directions. A medley of vegetables including patipan squashes, baby golden zucchini, whole snow peas, baby spinach, hothouse cocktail tomatoes, cremini mushrooms, onions, walnuts, wild garlic, basil, chives, salt and olive oil are sautéed and tossed together with the pasta.

Primavera literally translates to “spring pasta,” and is a very popular Italian dish that basically consists of pasta and vegetables. Sometimes meat such as chicken, turkey, or tuna are added for flavor and texture but the focus of the dish remains on the vegetables. In this recipe, rotini or fusili can be used for the pasta. Both kinds of pasta have a corkscrew shape or helix-type of pasta. Rotini has a tighter helix compared to fusilli and has a smaller pitch. It is generally flatter and shorter. Both their twisted shape allow them to hold sauces better. Of course, you can also use other types of pasta for making this dish such as penne, farfalle, linguini, or fettuccine.

Use the freshest vegetables for a superior result. The essence of primavera is using whatever fresh vegetables are in season, particularly during springtime. The vegetables should be cooked quickly on high heat to retain their flavor, color, and crispness. The different textures of the vegetables are an important part of the dish and what makes pasta primavera pleasurable to eat. Some like to use a cream-based sauce for pasta primavera but this can be heavy and high in fat and calories. In this dish, only tomatoes and olive oil are used for making the sauce, keeping the dish light and healthy.