Pasta Primavera Recipe
Pasta Primavera or "Spring Pasta" highlights tender spring vegetables—asparagus, peas, leeks and pea shoots, tossed with pappardelle, lemon zest, olive oil and spring herbs.
How to Make the Best Pasta Primavera
Pasta Primavera is the ultimate celebration of spring produce, bringing together the freshest seasonal vegetables in one vibrant, satisfying dish. This recipe showcases tender asparagus, sweet snap peas, aromatic leeks, and delicate fennel—all tossed with wide ribbon pasta and finished with bright lemon zest and fresh herbs.
What makes this pasta primavera truly special is its flexibility. While we love the combination of asparagus, peas, and fennel, you can easily swap in whatever vegetables look best at your farmers market. The key is to cook the vegetables just until they’re tender-crisp, preserving their bright colors and fresh flavors.
The finishing touches—a generous amount of pecorino cheese, fresh herbs like tarragon or dill, and a hint of lemon zest—elevate this simple pasta into something truly memorable. For extra creaminess without heaviness, stir in a bit of Greek yogurt at the end. This is the kind of dish that tastes like spring on a plate.
Pasta Primavera
Pasta Primavera or "Spring Pasta" highlights tender spring vegetables—asparagus, peas, leeks and pea shoots, tossed with pappardelle, lemon zest, olive oil and spring herbs.
Ingredients
Pasta
Vegetables
Finishing
Optional Additions
Instructions
Cook the Pasta
- Set salted water to boil for pasta—2 quarts water with 2 teaspoons salt, and boil pasta until al dente, saving one cup of hot salted pasta water.
Prepare the Vegetables
- In an extra-large sauté pan, heat oil over medium-low heat. Sauté onion and fennel until softened, add asparagus, snow peas and garlic, season with salt and pepper and continue to sauté until tender-crisp and bright green. Slightly undercooking is better than overcooking here.
Combine and Serve
- Add the pasta, lemon zest, cheese, pea shoots and watermelon radish, and a little pasta water to loosen it, tossing to coat the pasta, heating it up gently, allowing the cheese to incorporate. Toss in two-thirds of the herbs.
- Taste and add more salt as needed. Add a generous drizzle of good olive oil or for added creaminess, toss in some plain yogurt—start with ¼ cup, more as desired.
- Taste once more, adjusting salt and pepper. If it is bland, it needs more salt.
- Pour it onto a serving platter and scatter with the remaining herbs. Enjoy!
Notes
- You can substitute 2 shallots or one onion for the leek.
- For snap peas, you can substitute frozen peas, English peas, or edamame.
- For the fennel, you can substitute other spring vegetables of your choice.
- Use vegan parmesan for a dairy-free version.
