All the prep work on my summer garden has me fixated on vegetable dishes. As I scooped more seeds from bell peppers and eggplant today, my mind drifted towards a pasta primavera for dinner. I love this dish in the summertime with fresh peppers and eggplant. You can adapt the dish based on whatever fresh vegetables you have on hand.
[Updated August 12, 2011.]
Pasta Primavera
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Andrea Meyers
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 (1 pound) eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
- 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
- 1 orange or green bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium zucchini, sliced into rounds
- 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 4 or 5 grinds fresh black pepper
- 1 teaspoon oregano leaves
- 5 or 6 basil leaves, torn (or 1 teaspoon dried basil)
- 16 ounces pasta (castellane, rotini, penne, rigatoni, or other similar shape)
Preparation
- In the 6 quart pot, prepare pasta according to package directions.
While the pasta cooks
- In the 6 quart pot, saute the onion in olive oil until the onion glistens. Add the garlic and saute until garlic starts turning golden.
- Add the eggplant. Saute about 8 minutes, until it starts browning. Add the bell peppers and saute until the peppers are just hot.
- Stir in the zucchini, tomatoes, salt, pepper, oregano, and basil. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until the vegetables are fork tender. Don’t overcook or the vegetables will be mushy.
- Drain the pasta and put it back in the 8 quart pot. Add the sauce to the pasta and stir. Let it sit for about 5 minutes or so, until the pasta absorbs some of the juices.
- Serve with fresh grated Parmesan.
More Information
Equipment
sharp knife
2 6-quart pots
sharp knife
2 6-quart pots
Looks good… Yum.