Thursday, December 02, 2010

Linguine with Spring Vegetables

Presto Pasta Creator, Ruth from Once Upon a Feast is hosting this weeks celebration of all things pasta and while it has been a little time since I last joined in, I knew I just had to do something with these gorgeously fine examples of artisan Linguine.

linguineĀ© by Haalo


This particular pasta is made by Filotea based in La Marche in Italy. I think you can tell just by looking at the pasta that it is something special. It is an egg noodle which is obvious by the colour - it also has been air dried naturally which results in those patterns on the pasta - they do disappear with cooking. Best of all, it only takes 2 minutes to cook!

With a pasta that is so delicate and quick to cook, I wanted to serve it with something that was also quick to make and light.

I decided to use the best of spring ingredients - fresh peas and broad beans (fava beans) and for contrasting colour, finely shredded cabbage. The base of the sauce is butter that has been gently infused with chilli and garlic.

linguine with spring vegetablesĀ© by Haalo


Linguine with Spring Vegetables

linguine
butter
1 clove garlic, sliced finely
1 small red chilli, sliced finely
fresh broad beans (fava beans), blanched and skinned
fresh peas
red cabbage, sliced finely
large handful fresh parsley leaves
grated Parmesan
salt and white pepper


Place a large knob of butter in a pan over a very low heat - add in the garlic and chilli and cook slowly, so that the garlic softens but the butter doesn't colour.

Once the garlic has softened, add in the fresh peas - toss briefly and cook for a minute before adding the broad beans and red cabbage. At this stage I just want the cabbage to wilt slightly - it will release some of its liquid and this will help form the sauce. Season with a little sea salt and white pepper.

When the pasta is cooked, increase the heat slightly so that the butter begins to colour. Take it off the heat, add in a generous handful of fresh parsley leaves and a spoonful of grated Parmesan. Stir this through and then add in the drained pasta.

Mix the pasta through the sauce and then serve - finish off with another sprinkling of grated Parmesan.

linguine with spring vegetablesĀ© by Haalo


There's a lovely freshness to the just cooked peas and fava beans, well complimented by the garlic and chilli undertones. The red cabbage has a slightly tart flavour that offsets the sweet peas. They all work in harmony to still allow the flavour of the pasta to come through. The parsley adds a palate cleansing element and as there isn't any cream, it still feels light. Actually it is so nice, you don't even notice that there isn't any meat in it!

7 comments

  1. lovely presenation and faab pics!

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  2. As usual, I want to lick the screen. Thanks for sharing with Presto Pasta Nights. And now (we have snow and freezing temperatures), I'll drool for spring in a big way.

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  3. Linguine's my favorite pasta of all. That looks very tempting.

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  4. that looks beautiful. I made a pasta last night with some zucchinis from my mum's garden and it was beautiful.

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  5. That looks beautiful - I'm loving spring veggies right now too (I just can't get enough of artichokes and favas right now). Never would have thought of adding the red cabbage though - great addition.
    Sue :-)

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  6. Thanks Priya and Priya!

    Thanks Ruth - if I could swap I would!

    Thanks Gay!

    Thanks Susan - love zucchinis and pasta, when they cook down they get lovely and creamy

    Thanks Sue - you'll find there are some traditional Italian pasta dishes where cabbage is used.

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