I’ve been so fortunate to have travelled through Italy twice and hope to do so again one day soon. In my travels, I was introduced to Primavera — a word that just means ‘spring’ in Italian yet is also used to describe a type of light dish full of fresh seasonal vegetables. Here’s my version which combines the freshness of spring asparagus with the boldness of blue cheese and the texture of walnuts. It perfectly captures with each forkful the Italian essence of spring.
Ingredients
40g unsalted butter
400g dried pasta
extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch asparagus, ends snapped
2 shallots, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
salt and pepper
1 cup baby peas
1 cup grated Parmesan, plus extra for
serving
½ cup sour cream
1 cup walnuts, toasted
130g creamy blue cheese, crumbled
zest of 1 lemon
1 cup Italian parsley, chopped
GLUTEN-FREE OPTION:
Swap the dried pasta for gluten-free pasta.
Instructions
Cook the pasta according to packet instructions.
While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter with a dash of oil in a large skillet over a medium-high heat. Add the asparagus and shallots. Cook until tender, about 4–5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook another minute. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. When pasta is almost done, drop in baby peas for no longer than a minute. Drain pasta and peas into a large bowl.
Add the asparagus, shallots, Parmesan, sour cream, blue cheese, walnuts, zest and parsley and toss through. Season generously with salt and pepper and top with more Parmesan and a drizzle of oil.
Serves 4
My Weekend Table: Celebrating simple food from Aotearoa and beyond, by Gretchen Lowe, photography by Gretchen Lowe, published by Bateman Books, RRP $59.99, available now
