Spring Vegetable Pasta

Spring Veggie Pasta

Heeeeyyy. Hi. Remember me?

I hope so because I sure did miss you guys! I didn’t intend to stay away for as long as I did but there just wasn’t enough time in the day to keep up with everything. Plus, I didn’t want to look back at such an important time in my life and regret not disconnecting from my computer. I’m sure some of you can relate to that feeling.

Anyway, I can’t wait to fill you in on all of the details!! We got home from Maui last Wednesday and I haven’t quite settled back into my normal routine yet {read: exercise has been non-existent} but I’m enjoying life as a married woman.

I have a ton of pictures to sort through from the honeymoon and we just got our wedding photos back today so you should be seeing those sometime soon. I’m just trying to play catch up right now, especially in the kitchen.

Spring Veggie Pasta

I figured a good place to start was with a few bright green spring veggies, like fresh asparagus and pea shoots.

If you’re new to pea shoots, they’re basically just the sprout of a pea plant. They’re low in calories and have a faint pea flavor that makes a delicious addition to salad, stir-fry, or in this case, pasta. Even better, they’re loaded with phytonutrients that provide powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits.

You know what else has anti-inflammatory benefits?

Spring Veggie Pasta

Wine…so I put some of that in there too. Actually, I’m not sure that cooking with white wine offers the same benefits as drinking red but let’s pretend. Because it tastes good.

The sauce for this pasta is super simple: white wine, herbs, a little bit of butter (or olive oil), and fresh lemon juice. The shiitake mushrooms absorb all of those flavors and taste especially scrumptious in this dish.

But the best part is that everything but the pasta is cooked in one pan. I was tempted to roast or grill the asparagus with fresh lemon and olive oil and then add it later but I didn’t want to over-complicate things. It’s a light and flavorful dish that’s simple enough for a weeknight dinner, but if you don’t mind the extra step then I’m sure roasted asparagus would be awesome too.

Spring Veggie Pasta

By the way, have you noticed that I completely ignored the fact that today is Cinco de Mayo? I honestly forgot all about it which is a crying shame because I’ll use any excuse to eat Mexican food. I have enough Mexican-inspired recipes on here to prove it too.

But I just couldn’t wait one more day to say hi and to share this pasta with y’all. I hope you are able to kick back with a margarita tonight and enjoy some nice spring weather!

 

Spring Vegetable Pasta

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Yield: 4-6

Spring Vegetable Pasta

Ingredients

8 ounces pasta of choice (I used whole grain fusilli)

2 tablespoons olive oil or butter (or vegan butter)

1 shallot, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

juice of 2 lemons + zest of one

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 teaspoon fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)

1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

1 bunch asparagus, chopped

8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, sliced

10 ounces green peas, fresh or frozen and defrosted

2 ounces pea shoots, chopped

1/2 shredded parmesan cheese (or nutritional yeast)

Instructions

  1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook pasta as suggested.
  2. In a large pan, warm the oil or butter over medium heat, add the garlic and the shallot then cook for 2-3 minutes.
  3. Next, add the asparagus along with the white wine, lemon juice and herbs. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes, until asparagus is just tender.
  4. Then add the shitake mushrooms and stir until they have absorbed some of the liquid. Lastly, add the the peas and the pea shoots and continue to cook while stirring for 2-3 more minutes.
  5. Distribute pasta into separate bowls and top with parmesan cheese.
https://www.makingthymeforhealth.com/spring-vegetable-pasta/

Spring Veggie Pasta