Celebrate spring with a quick and easy creamy pasta primavera! It has a tangy, light sauce, colorful veggies, and best of all, it's ready in 20 minutes!
Ingredients
12ouncespasta(pappardelle or another egg-enriched pasta works especially well)
1cupsugar snap peas
1bunch asparagus(about 1/2 pound)
1medium shallot
1garlic clove
2tablespoonsunsalted butter
1/2cupfrozen or fresh shelled English peas
kosher salt
freshly-ground black pepper
juice of 1 lemon
1-2cupsarugula
2/3cupgrated Parmesan
1/2cupplain Greek yogurt or creme fraiche
1-2tablespoonschopped fresh basil
1-2tablespoonschopped fresh parsley
pinchof red pepper flakes(optional)
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Instructions
Boil water in a large pot, add salt, and cook pasta according to package directions until just short of al dente. When finished, scoop out about 1 cup of the cooking water, set that aside, and drain the rest.
While the pasta is cooking, prepare the veggies. Trim any stringy ends off the sugar snap peas, and cut them into pieces about 1” long. Trim the thick, white ends off the asparagus, and cut the rest into pieces about 2” long. Peel and finely chop the shallot and garlic.
Melt butter in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the cut sugar snap peas and asparagus, shallot, garlic, and frozen or English peas. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and cook for 3-4 minutes, just until the veggies are slightly tender. Turn the heat down to low.
Add cooked pasta to the skillet, and toss to mix everything together. Stir in a generous squeeze of lemon juice and the arugula, letting the arugula wilt with the residual heat of the pasta and veggies.
Stir in the Parmesan and Greek yogurt. Add a little of the reserved pasta water, if desired, to thin the sauce out to your desired consistency. Season with more salt and pepper to taste, and garnish as desired with basil, parsley, and red pepper flakes. Serve right away.
Notes
This recipe makes 3-4 servings. It is pretty filling, but if you want to add a bit more protein, you can serve it alongside some grilled chicken or shrimp.
Feel free to leave or swap out any of the veggies depending on your own family's preferences. The overall directions remain the same!