Fettuccine Primavera

Primavera means ‘spring’ in Italian. Use your favorite spring vegetables such as asparagus, peas, broccoli, cauliflower etc. Another recipe adapted from ‘Living the G. I. Diet‘. For those who are lactose intolerant, this is a nice dish as there’s no milk in the sauce with the exception of the Parmesan cheese.

Serves 4
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup vegetable cocktail juice
2 cups of chopped asparagus
1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 carrot, julienned
1 yellow zucchini thinly sliced (can also use green zucchini)
250g whole wheat fettuccine or linguine pasta
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley chopped
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute. Add the vegetable juice and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 1 minute. Add the asparagus, bell pepper, carrot and zucchini. Cook, stirring until the vegetables are tender crisp (10 minutes).

Cook the pasta according to instructions. Drain and return it to the pot. Add the vegetables and toss to coat with the sauce. Stir in the tomatoes, parsley and season with salt and pepper. Add Parmesan when the pasta is on the plate and serve immediately.

The Culinary Chase’s Note: I used my wok to cook the vegetables and then tossed the cooked pasta into the wok. You may not need all 3 tablespoons of olive oil so just start with 2 tablespoons and go from there. If you don’t fancy using vegetable juice, you can always substitute it for chicken stock. The red pepper flakes adds just the right amount of bite to this dish!