Green Orecchiette with Spring Vegetables

Come June, when my garden is well established and productive all I want to eat are vegetables, minimally prepared. A great spring and summer recipe avoids the oven and keeps vegetables snappy and fresh. Conveniently, spring produce coincides with great weather. Which is perfect because the last thing I want to do on a hot beautiful day is spend it inside in the kitchen.

This pasta is extremely versatile. Add in whatever delicious green spring vegetables you have. It is the perfect fridge clean-out and is certainly the healthiest pasta recipe around. Orecchiette pasta is adorable and perfectly hugs the peas, but you can substitute any smaller shaped pasta.

Most importantly save your pasta cooking water! That is truly the difference between lackluster pasta at home and the creamy pasta we all crave at the Italian restaurant. I simply drain the pasta over a measuring cup and add it in when I am tossing the noodles with the sauce. I also add a bit in when I am putting the leftovers away, to keep the pasta from drying out.

Green Orecchiette with Spring Vegetables

Adapted Loosely from Jamie Oliver
Serves 6

1-2 Tbsp olive oil
5-6 spring onions or garlic scapes
1 leek, halved, cleaned and finely sliced
1 garlic clove, finely minced
3 large handfuls of arugula, kale, swiss chard or spinach (or a combination), roughly chopped
1 large pinch Aleppo pepper or crushed red pepper flakes
1 handful fresh herbs: basil, parsley, cilantro, tarragon (or a combination)
1 cup asparagus, snap peas, beans, sliced into 1 inch segments, or broccoli, broken into 1 inch florets (or a combination)
1 cup frozen or fresh peas
450 g orecchiette pasta, or other small pasta of your choice
Parmesan cheese, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a medium skillet, on medium heat. Add the spring onions (or garlic scapes) and the leek and saute until softened but not darkened. Add the garlic clove, arugula, Aleppo pepper, a pinch of salt and ground pepper and stir until the arugula has softened. Transfer the contents to a blender and add the herbs.

Meanwhile, prepare an ice bath and cook the larger vegetables in the pot of salted water. If using asparagus, snap peas or beans, cook for 2 minutes, remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to the ice bath. If using broccoli, cook the florets for 3 minutes before transferring to the ice bath. Do not discard the water.

Add the pasta to the water and cook until al dente, according to package directions. When the pasta is almost done, add 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking liquid to the blender and puree until smooth, adding more cooking water if necessary to obtain a smooth puree. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.

Drain the pasta, keeping 1 cup of the pasta cooking liquid. Toss the pasta with the cooked vegetables, sauce, and the peas. Stir, adding cooking water if the pasta is too dry. Top with additional freshly ground pepper and grated Parmesan cheese.