One-pot pasta primavera
One-pot pasta primavera
I spent a LOT of time watching the HellthyJunkFood® channel on YouTube this weekend, and while I am very unfamiliar with almost ALL of the fast food items they try/review and attempt to copy at home (I hardly ever eat out, much less at those places), it still managed to make me crave something not so healthy (don’t get it twisted, their name is HELLthy, so they don’t really make or promote much healthy stuff). ANYWAY, I thought about what I had on hand and figured the best I could do was either 1. get over myself (ha), 2. wait til the ground chuck in my freezer thawed out so I could make a patty melt (nah), or 3. think about something else that would be rich and tasty AND I had all the stuff with which to make it– like some pasta primavera, which sounds fancy and intimidating with lots of rules and steps, but it’s pretty much pasta with fresh vegetables …the rest is carte blanche, as far as what you can put in it. I went with that.
I wanted to make it with asparagus, but thanks to my online grocer’s price discrepancy on that, I didn’t get it yesterday (they had stated 1 lb of asparagus was $1.79 but then changed it to $3.99/lb on a different page of the site), I decided to use what I had, which was broccoli florets, carrot, and spinach.
I cooked a pot of vermicelli in some salted boiling water, and added the broccoli and carrots in at the last couple minutes (basically since vermicelli takes no more than 6 minutes, that’s a trick that is hard to do if you’re not quick). Then I drained the noodles and veggies and left them in the colander with a teeny splash of olive oil so they wouldn’t stick together. So yeah…I dirtied a colander, in addition to the one pot. Sorry.
In the pasta pot, I heated up some oil and added about 2 TB of finely diced onion and some slivers of basil and thyme, and cooked it very quickly until the onion was tender. Then I sprinkled a tiny bit of flour (~1/4 cup) over all and whisked the fat and flour together for about 1-2 minutes, to cook away the flour and make it a creamy paste. I slowly poured 1/2 cup of half & half and a few splashes of chicken stock into the paste, whisking it all until smooth. Then I placed a thinly sliced clove of garlic (not chopped–you could also just smash it a bit so it opens without breaking up into pieces) in it and let the mixture get warm for a few minutes, stirring constantly so it wouldn’t stick. Then I used a slotted spoon to pick the garlic out and tossed it (you could smear it on a plate or cutting board and put it back in if you like, but I wanted just a mild garlic flavor).
After the creamy mixture was completely cooked and smooth, I added a 1/4 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese, and continued to stir it in as with the paste and milk/stock. I waited until this point to add some salt and pepper to taste, because Parmesan can be salty. Then I tossed in about 2 cups of spinach, letting it wilt a wee bit, and slowly dragged the pasta and veggies into the pot using tongs, tossing gently to get the noodles and veggies completely coated with the sauce.
I twirled a heap of it into a bowl, piping hot, and sprinkled black pepper & more Parmesan cheese on top (after the pic) and ate it with a romaine salad. I’m so stuffed, I would probably bleed food, if you cut me right now.
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Oh, and the diced onions apparently disappeared into the sauce. I cut them very fine but could still taste them. I love doing this with red bell pepper and mushrooms, too.
Looks and sounds wonderful and quick. The trouble with watching food programs, you get the cravings! 🙂
Yep! Lol
Only thing not quick was chopping the carrots. I usually take Sundays to do things like that anyway (wash and dry lettuce for lunches for the next couple days, etc.) so no biggie.
Great work! I’d eat that.
Thanks! I love your videos!