Pasta Primavera
Ciao! I was L-A-Z-Y today! I got up, made myself some breakfast and took my food and book out to the deck, ate and read, ate again, then read and/or napped in my hammock ALL DAY. Man, that was excellent time spent doing… nothing. So needless to say, there was not a lot of effort going to be put into dinner. Luckily, we had already decided on Pasta Primavera, and I promise you if you can’t even cook an egg, you can make this dish!
We went OLD school Giada for this one! Crazily, her early cookbooks are creeping up on 15 years old already. My oh my, time flies. Anyway, there’s not a lot to say about this recipe, except that I cut it in half. I don’t know if you’ve ever cooked an entire box of pasta for two people, but we would be eating leftovers for days, and only one of us likes leftovers (hint: it’s me).
I love roasting vegetables. She says it in the recipe, but cooking them on high heat in the oven makes them start to caramelize and they have SO much more flavor! Other than olive oil, S&P, some Italian seasoning, and Parmesan cheese, there’s nothing in this dish but love. I was worried it might be bland, but not at all! And we do have a little bit left over so I can heat some up for lunch tomorrow. Bonus!
Before we get too far into Italian Summer, I’m going to lecture you on something, so pay attention: Parmesan cheese. DO NOT, under any circumstances, buy that shit in the green shaker can and tell me that’s Parmesan cheese. Buy yourself an actual wedge of parm, grate it yourself, and put it on your food. It is 1000 times better and you will not be sorry. You don’t have to buy expensive stuff, Bel Gioso makes a decent packaged wedge. If you shop at Kroger, they carry a brand in the cheese department called Muray’s that they cut off the wheel and wrap up, and it’s great too. I try not to judge people for stuff, but I WILL absolutely judge you for using shitty cheese. Don’t do it.
Cheers! ~ Jen
