Description
Frilly pasta with fresh summer vegetables in a luscious lemony sauce. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 pound pasta - any shape you like. I like the frilly shapes for this dish, such as Campanelli.
- 1 bunch asparagus, ends trimmed
- 3 big handfuls of sugar snap peas (about 3 cups) stringed
- 4-5 ears of fresh corn, shucked (or substitute 3 cups frozen corn, thawed)
- Sauce
- 1/2 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 juicy lemons)
- 2/3 cup fresh grated good quality parmigiana cheese, such as Parmigiana Reggiano, plus more for sprinkling
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 10-12 large basil leaves, stacked and thinly sliced
Instructions
- Blanch the Vegetables: Set up a large bowl of ice water in your sink. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. (you can use the same water for all the vegetables but cook the corn last to avoid strings getting tangled in the other veggies) Put the asparagus into the boiling water and set the timer for 2 - 3 minutes, depending on how thick they are. Transfer them to the ice water to stop the cooking process immediately and preserve their bright green color. Slice them into bite-sized pieces. Put them into a large bowl and set aside. Add snap peas to the boiling water. Set the timer for 2 minutes. Scoop them out and plunge them into the ice bath, using a slotted spoon or mesh skimmer. Slice off the tough little root at the end of each pea pod and slice peas diagonally into thirds. Add them to the bowl with the asparagus. Add corn to the boiling water and set the timer for 3 minutes. Plunge corn into ice water to cool and then cut the kernels off the cob and add to the bowl. (if using frozen corn, no need to cook it) Vegetables can be blanched ahead of time and kept in an airtight container in the fridge for a few hours - bring to room temp before continuing.
- Cook the Pasta:Â Cook pasta in salted water (1 tablespoon), according to the package directions. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water.
- Make the Sauce: While the pasta is cooking, whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, parmesan, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Put pasta into the large bowl with the vegetables. Pour the sauce mixture on top and toss to coat. Add up to a cup of the cooking water, tossing, until you get your desired consistency. The sauce shouldn't be liquidy, it should just coat the pasta. Season pasta with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Toss with basil just before serving. Serve with extra parmigiana cheese on the side.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Category: Main Dish or Side Dish
- Method: boil
- Cuisine: Out of this World