Our version is a pared down rendition of this classic, simplified and lightened up for more modern tastes. Why resurrect pasta primavera at all? Because despite all the jokes, it was – and is – a good dish. Any of us who ate in high style in the late 1970s, or really anywhere in the 1980s, has eaten it at some point in our lives. I ate it a lot. My mother first had it at Le Cirque sometime around 1979, and loved it so much she learned how to make it.
The Best Pasta for Pasta Primavera
My mother made her primavera with angel hair pasta, which is a gossamer version of spaghetti that cooks in seconds. It has a lovely mouthfeel and really does make the cream and cheese feel lighter when you eat it. But, angel hair congeals into a gob in minutes, so don’t make the pasta until the sauce is done, and don’t wait to serve it—the angel hair must go from pot to plate at once. Angel hair, also called capellini, is readily available in most supermarkets. Can you use regular old spaghetti? You bet. That’s what they used at Le Cirque, after all.
More Classic Pasta Recipes to Try!
Pasta Carbonara Pasta e Fagioli Pasta Puttanesca Chicken Scampi With Angel Hair Pasta Spaghetti and Meatballs
Add the asparagus and boil another minute. Add the snow peas and boil for 30 more seconds. Remove all the vegetables and plunge them into the ice water. Once they’re cool, drain in a colander. If you want, you can boil your pasta in the same pot you boiled the vegetables in, or you can start over and boil new water; I use the same water. Add the diced tomatoes and sauté another 2 minutes, stirring often. Add the cream and toss in all the vegetables you boiled, plus the peas. Stir to combine. Turn the heat down until the cream-chicken broth mixture is just simmering, not boiling. Add the basil now, and taste for salt. Add salt if needed. Grind some black pepper over everything and serve immediately. You will want a dry white wine with this, ideally a dry French white.
