Admittedly I am not a fan of the primavera you can order in most Italian restaurants - the vegetables are likely steamed and insipid - heavy on the water content and light on flavour. But this variation was cooked up for me during a lovely dinner party in London many years ago by a dear friend from Books for Cooks. It is straightforward enough for a mid week meal and can be made with an endless combination of vegetables. Simply think of color and organize your cooking by parboiling those fibrous roots before roasting them in the oven.
a selection of vegetables for roasting cut 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch
we like asparagus, red onion - cut as if for shish kebabs, fennel, butternut squash, and cherry tomatoes
1/3 cup evoo
freshly cracked pepper
kosher salt
1 pound rigatoni or other shaped pasta
1/3 cup kalamata olives
(optional 1/3 cup diced proscuitto for any non-veggies out there)
2 - 3 Tbs of good evoo that you would use for salad dressing
fresh basil, if possible
good good Parmesan for grating / parmigiano reggiano,
( if you can throw down for it)
*A note about ingredients - while it's always best to buy the highest quality you can afford, I think it is doubly important when cooking vegetarian. You are cutting out some of the foods with the highest fat content - and unfortunately our taste buds are wired for fat. So make sure at least some of the item you are still eating are impeccable.
Preheat the oven to 375 F. If anything needs parboiling start a pot of water, chop, then cook the veg for 5 -10 minutes. From the list above I would recommend treating the squash and the fennel this way. The squash can go into the water first, then five minutes later, add the chopped fennel.
Combine the chopped raw and parboiled veg in a bowl. Add the 1/3 cup evoo for cooking, the kosher salt, and the fresh cracked pepper. Spread mixture on a baking sheet and bake the vegetables until they can be easily pierced with a fork - about 30 minutes. I recommend checking a few types of veggies to be sure that you are ready to eat.
Meanwhile start a large pot of salted water boiling for the pasta. As Marcella Hazan says, water for pasta shoudl be as salty as the Mediterrenean. Chop the proscuitto, if you are using it. Cook the pasta until al dente according to the directions on the box.
The best way to allow pasta and sauce to meet is by removing your pasta from the water while it is still a little more al dente then you prefer - about 1 mintue less than the recommended cooking time. Have your sauce ready in a large pan on low heat. Add the pasta to the pan holding the sauce, a little residual cooking water is okay if it sneaks in, this will help the pasta and sauce to comingle. Toss the pasta in the sauce and continue striring occassionally allowing the pasta to finish cooking.
Add proscuitto, olives, and basil. Toss with remaining 2 tablespoons of really good evoo. Grate with parm - et voila!
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