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Light Lemon Pasta Primavera

April 14, 2019 11 Comments

Light lemon pasta primavera is the perfect spring main dish to feed a crowd. Packed full of delicious crunchy spring vegetables and tossed in a light lemon butter sauce. This simple healthy meal will quickly become a family favorite this spring! 

We recently had our first taste of Spring here in Utah. It only lasted 24 hours but who’s counting? (me. I am counting) We spent the majority of our day soaking up the 70 degree sunshine outdoors and all went to bed with a slight pink tint to our skin. It instantly had me dreaming of dinners al fresco. There really is no other place I’d rather be than around our patio dining table with my favorite people. Delicious fresh food, the warmth of the evening air and the sounds of spring speak to my soul.

Some of my favorite fruits and vegetables are at their peak during spring harvest.

  • Artichokes
  • Asparagus
  • Avocados
  • Broccoli
  • Carrots
  • Celery
  • Fresh herbs
  • Garlic
  • Peas
  • Pineapple
  • Spinach
  • Strawberries

Eating seasonally means you are experiencing produce in their prime and nothing can compare to those flavors, making this a great time to introduce new fruits and vegetables to your family.

Five Reasons to Eat Seasonally

There are so many reasons why I prefer to eat seasonally. Here are five reasons you should too…

  • Fresh tastes better. Food that is in season is most likely grown close to home, meaning it doesn’t have to travel far to make it into your kitchen. Preserving the freshness and the nutritional value but most importantly the taste.
  • Support your local farmers. Shopping at your local farmers market helps support your home economy, creates community support and builds a lasting relationship between farmers and consumers.
  • Save money. Planning your meals around seasonal produce can save you loads of money in the long run. Because seasonal produce is in abundance most markets will run sales to keep it moving.
  • Nutritional variety. Seasonal eating is a great way to increase your intake of fresh fruits and vegetables. Produce purchased in season is more likely to be eaten closer to harvest, preserving many of its vitamins and nutrients.
  • Try something new. I love seeing new varieties of fruits and vegetables at the farmers market and always try to leave with one new to us option. This is another great way to introduce new foods to your family.

What is Pasta Primavera?

In Italian primavera means spring style, referring to fresh vegetables. So, pasta primavera is simply spring vegetables of seasonal variety paired with your favorite pasta cooked al dente then tossed together in a light and buttery fresh herb sauce. Pasta perfection in my opinion. Wouldn’t you agree? Butter and pasta has to be one of my all time favorite combinations and this recipe is at the tip top of my favorites list!

How To make Light Lemon Pasta Primavera

This easy Light Lemon Pasta Primavera is quick and simple with just a few fresh ingredients. It takes about 20 minutes from start to finish, making it perfect for busy weeknight dinners or simple meal prep.

  1. Start by cooking your pasta to al dente. I like to use fettuccine noodles for this recipe as they tend to blend best with the spiralized squash.
  2. Prep your vegetables and herbs, set aside. We will be adding these in stages based on cook times.
  3. Sweat your squash zoodles by laying them out on paper towels and sprinkling with salt to pull out any excess moisture before cooking.
  4. Melt your Plugrá® butter in a large sauce pan over medium low heat. Add garlic, shallots and herbs and cook until fragrant.
  5. Add olive oil and asparagus and sauté until asparagus is crisp tender, about 5-7 minutes.
  6. Drain fettuccine reserving 1/4 cup of the water and rinse well.
  7. Turn heat to medium-low and add lemon juice, frozen peas and spiralized squash to the sauce pan and toss with tongs. Allow squash to soften before adding fettuccine.
  8. Add fettuccine and toss to coat. If the pasta is too dry add a bit of reserved pasta water to the sauce pan one tablespoon at a time, or a bit more butter, I won’t tell.
  9. Add shredded parmesan and salt and pepper to taste.
  10. Transfer pasta primavera to a plate or platter and sprinkle with more fresh parmesan and parsley for garnish.
  11. DEVOUR!

QUALITY INGREDIENTS IN PASTA PRIMAVERA

If I’m going to eat pasta, its going to be worth it. Meaning, I choose the best possible ingredients available to me. Splurgggggge.

  • If you can find homemade pasta, use it. I like de cecco brand available here.
  • Fresh local produce and herbs bring flavors and a dimension that is unbeatable.
  • Rich premium Plugrá butter, slow churned with real milk from American dairy farms seals the deal with its creamy delicious flavor. Regular butter is 80% butterfat and higher in moisture while Plugrá is 82% butterfat and lower in moisture resulting in a much more flavorful dish.
  • Freshly grated parmesan cheese is hands down more flavorful than packaged. Load up.

My taste buds want to do a happy dance! This recipe is fabulous all by itself, but would be delicious served as side with grilled chicken or steak. Perfect for a crowd or meal prep for the week. I can’t wait to make this dish again, the MOST perfect spring recipe just made its debut… ENJOY!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Kroger and Plugrà. All opinions expressed are my own.

Print

Light Lemon Pasta Primavera

Ingredients

  • 12 ounces fettuccine, cooked
  • 2 medium yellow summer squash, spiralized
  • 1 bunch asparagus, ends trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 cup petite peas, frozen
  • 4 tbsp salted Plugrá butter
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 shallot, thinly sliced
  • 3 tbsp fresh basil, finely chopped
  • 3 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

Instructions

  1. Cook fettuccine to al dente. Drain and set aside reserving 1/4 cup water.

  2. Spiralize squash and allow to sweat for 15 minutes.

  3. Melt butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add garlic, shallot and fresh herbs and sauté until fragrant.

  4. Add olive oil and asparagus and sauté until asparagus is crisp tender, about 5-7 minutes.

  5. Turn heat to medium-low and add spiralized squash, peas and lemon juice to pan. Toss with tongs to coat. Cook for 5-7 minutes before adding fettuccine. 

  6. Add fettuccine. If the pasta is too dry add a bit more butter or reserved pasta water, one tablespoon at at time.

  7. Add shredded parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Toss.

  8. Transfer pasta to a platter or individual plates and top with a sprinkle more of parmesan cheese and parsley to garnish. Enjoy!

Filed Under: Dinner, Sides Tagged With: asparagus, basil, English peas, fettucine, garlic butter, lemon, plugra butter, spring pasta, vegetarian

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kalee

    April 26, 2019 at 6:56 pm

    I made this with spinach instead of asparagus and it was SO GOOD!!!! Super light and refreshing too. Yum!

    Reply
    • shannon

      April 27, 2019 at 4:28 pm

      I’m so glad you loved it!!

      Reply
  2. Jennifer

    May 8, 2019 at 12:24 am

    5 stars
    So delicious!
    I made this zucchini instead of yellow squash and reduced the amount of pasta, so it was more vegetable based. My kids wouldn’t even try it, but I sort of done care. Now I have leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Thanks for the great recipe.

    Reply
    • shannon

      May 8, 2019 at 8:12 pm

      Yes! Mom win lol!

      Reply
  3. Amanda Steelmon

    May 8, 2019 at 4:56 am

    What do you think about subbing broccilini for the asparagus and adding shrimp as a protein? Would that still work?

    Reply
    • shannon

      May 8, 2019 at 8:12 pm

      Absolutely! That sounds divine! You may want to add more butter if adding shrimp! Let me know how it turns out!

      Reply
  4. Jennifer

    May 8, 2019 at 10:18 am

    How many does this feed?

    Reply
    • shannon

      May 8, 2019 at 8:11 pm

      I would say 4-6 depending on how you serve it. If you were to add a protein and serve as a side than 6, if serving alone more like 4! Enjoy!

      Reply
  5. Kim

    April 8, 2020 at 4:56 pm

    If I can’t find plug are butter, is there an alternative brand you’d recommend? Is it unsalted butter?

    Reply
    • Kim

      April 8, 2020 at 4:57 pm

      Plugara* butter

      Reply
    • shannon

      April 15, 2020 at 1:51 am

      Any salted butter would work just fine!

      Reply

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Hi my name is Shannon. I am a wife, mother of three, and lover of food! In 2001 I was diagnosed with a series of digestive issues that forced me to drastically change my diet. From the moment my health journey began I found a new love for cooking...

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