Pasta Primavera Recipe

Fill and boil your kettle and have two large saucepans ready. Place one of the pans over a low-medium heat, then put the butter and 2 tbsp of the olive oil into it. When the butter has melted, add the prepared onion, leeks, carrot and celery and cook for about five minutes. While they are cooking, cut the asparagus spears in half – leave the parts with the heads as they are, and slice the stems into thin rounds. When the onion mixture has had five minutes, add the sliced garlic, all the asparagus and the peas and cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring frequently. Next, pour the stock and wine (if using) into the veg pan and let it simmer until almost all the liquid has evaporated and the vegetables are tender. While the veg simmers, fill the other saucepan with freshly boiled water from the kettle, add a pinch of salt and then place over a high heat to bring it to the boil. Add the pasta, reduce the heat slightly and leave to cook – you need the pasta to be ‘al dente’ (with a little bit of bite), which usually means cooking it for about 2 minutes less than the time recommended on the packet.

When the vegetables are tender and the sauce has reduced, season them with black pepper, and add salt if needed, then reduce the heat to low. When the pasta is ready, drain it, reserving a mugful of the cooking water. Add the pasta to the veg pan, along with a splash of the reserved cooking water and the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, then toss it all together until the pasta is well coated. Divide between four pasta bowls or dishes, then scatter over the parsley, top with the grated cheese and serve straight away.