Sam Choy's Chinese Pasta Primavera

By ShazInNV

Sam Choy says: Pasta is a very interesting dish. When Marco Polo toured China, he fell in love with noodles and brought the concept back to Italy. But when the Italians tried to make Chinese noodles, they were limited by the flour and methods available in Italy, which were very different from those in China. That's why Italian pasta is different from Chinese noodles. This is my way of blending both Chinese and Italian influences in a hearty vegetarian pasta dish.

Ingredients

• Garnish:
• 1 pound uncooked linguine
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 medium red bell pepper, cut into strips
• 1 medium yellow bell pepper, cut into strips
• 2 medium zucchini, sliced (courgette)
• 1/2 pound broccoli florets
• 1/2 pound asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 pound sugar snap peas or snow peas, trimmed
• 6 shallots or 6 green onions, sliced very thin
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 2 teaspoons fresh Thai basil or sweet basil, chopped
• salt and pepper
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Preparation

Step 1

Fill a large pot with water and begin heating it for the pasta.

In a large skillet or wok, heat oil and butter and stir-fry vegetables, onion and garlic about 3 minutes; add cilantro and basil and cook another minute, or until vegetables are done to your taste, leaving them a little crunchy.

When the water boils, add linguine and cook al dente, according to package directions; drain; toss vegetables with pasta and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Season vegetables with salt and pepper and mix with soy sauce.