Pasta Primavera

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Light spring vegetable pasta seasoned with a tangy Dijon vinaigrette.

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Total Time25

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 364kcal

Author: Anecia Hero

Ingredients

1 pound penne pasta
1 cup chopped broccoli florets
1 cup sliced asparagus tips See recipe notes
1 cup diced zucchini (about 1 large zucchini)
4 ounces sugar snap peas See recipe notes
½ cup finely diced carrots (about 1 big carrot)
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 pint grape tomatoes sliced in half See recipe notes
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
¾ cup Dijon Vinaigrette- recipe below
salt
ground white pepper

Dijon Vinaigrette Ingredients (makes ¾ cup)

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey
½ teaspoon packed light brown sugar
½ teaspoon finely minced garlic (about 1 clove minced)
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
chopped chives; garnish (optional)

Instructions

Prep

Make the Dijon Vinaigrette; in a small mixing bowl, combine vinaigrette ingredients and whisk until fully incorporated; set aside
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice , 1 tablespoon honey, ½ teaspoon packed light brown sugar, ½ teaspoon finely minced garlic , ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
Chop the veggies, measure and set aside; get a big bowl and fill it with ice and water; set aside
1 cup chopped broccoli florets, 1 cup sliced asparagus tips, 1 cup diced zucchini, 4 ounces sugar snap peas, ½ cup finely diced carrots, 1 pint grape tomatoes sliced in half
Blanch some of the veggies: heat 6 quarts of water in a large stockpot on medium high temperature. Right before the water begins to boil, add in the chopped broccoli, zucchini, asparagus and sugar snap peas. (Do not add the diced carrots or frozen peas to the blanching water.)
Let the green veggies blanch in the hot water for 2 - 3 minutes; remove veggies from hot water and transfer immediately to the ice water bath; once the veggies have cooled transfer them to a mixing bowl and add 2 tablespoons of the Dijon vinaigrette; coat well and set aside

Make the salad

Use the same stockpot and water you used to blanch the veggies in. You might have to add a little more water, but use the same pot to cook the pasta. Cook it to al dente, according to the package directions. When the pasta is done, drain it and transfer it to a big mixing bowl. Do not rinse the pasta.
1 pound penne pasta
Drizzle the drained pasta with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, ½ cup of the Dijon vinaigrette, ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper, ¼ teaspoon salt, apple cider vinegar. Combine well and set aside; allow to cool
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, salt, ground white pepper, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Fold in the blanched vegetables, toss in the thawed frozen peas, diced carrots and grape tomatoes; add more Dijon dressing to the mixture and coat well.
1 cup frozen peas, thawed, 1 pint grape tomatoes sliced in half
Season to taste with salt and ground white pepper; garnish with chives (optional); serve at room temperature
salt, ground white pepper, chopped chives; garnish (optional)

Notes

Sugar snap peas-

These are sold in my grocery store in 8 ounce bags; I only used half a bag, but you can use more if you like. I don't recommend cutting these; use them whole.

Asparagus -

I bought a bunch of asparagus with thick stalks; I cut off the asparagus spears into diagonal slices and used about 4"inch of the top of the stalks. This yielded about one cup.

Grape tomatoes -

I like these because they're sweeter and smaller than cherry tomatoes. I used about 1/2 a pint of grape tomatoes and sliced them in half. You can use cherry tomatoes if you prefer.

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