Pasta Primavera - Giada

By norsegal8

Primavera is Italian for "spring", and that's what this dish tastes like. it was created at Le Cirque, New York's famed restaurant, in the 70's because some high-flying and health contious patrons complained that they wanted lighter and healthier dishes. The original version was labor-intensive because you had to not only dice all the vegetables, but also blanch them in different pots. Giada's version cuts out the blanching and instead, you roast the vegetables and end up with a sweet, carmelized, intensely flavored bite. The flavors intensify with time.

Ingredients

• 3 carrots, peeled
• 2 medium or 1 large zucchini
• 2 yellow summer squash
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. dried Italian herbs or herbs de Provence
• 2 tsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 2 tsp. black pepper
• 1 lb. dried farfalle pasta
• 15 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Details

Servings 6

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Cut the carrots, zucchini, squash and peppers into 2-inch long strips. On a large, heavy baking sheet, toss the vegetable strips, onion, dried herbs, oil and 2 teaspoons each of salt and pepper to coat. Transfer half the vegetable mixture to another, large, heavy baking sheet, and arrange the vegetables evenly over both sheets. Bake, stirring after the first 10 minutes, until the carrots are tender and the other vegetables are begin to brown, about 20 minutes total.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the farfalle and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. In a large bowl, toss the pasta with the cooked vegetables to combine. Add the cherry tomatoes and enough of the reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the pasta to bowls. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese to serve.