Recipe: Paparadelle with green vegetables

I was going to name this dish "Pasta Primavera.” The name, to me, connotes an Italian pasta dish whose ingredients claim the first greens of springtime. I checked out the Pasta Primavera recipe on page 136 of "The New Basics" Cookbook by Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins, and they tell a different tale: "...it's not Italian at all. It was created in the early 1970s by Sirio Maccioni, owner of Le Cirque in New York." Apparently anything goes when it comes to Primavera knock-offs!

Yield: 4 servings
Time: 35 minutes
Cost: Approx. $12.50

Ingredients

• 1 cup frozen peas
•  12 ounces paparadelle egg pasta
•  2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
•  1/4 cup pine nuts
•  1 bunch (8 cups) chopped chard, stems separated from leaves and washed
•  1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
•  1 pound asparagus of similar width, stem ends snapped or cut off
•  Zest and juice from 1/2-1 lemon
•  3 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs, such as basil, dill, thyme or marjoram

Directions

1. Place peas in a colander in the sink. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil pasta, according to package directions; add asparagus in the last 1-2 minutes of cooking time (1 minute for slender asparagus; 2 minutes for thicker stalks.) Drain pasta and asparagus over frozen peas in colander; the hot water will cook the peas.
2. While pasta is cooking, heat 1 tablespoon oil to medium heat. Cook pine nuts until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Remove and reserve. Place chard stems in oil with garlic and sauté until slightly limp, 2- 3 minutes. Add chard leaves and cook until tender, an additional 2 minutes.
3. Combine pasta, asparagus, peas, pine nuts and remaining olive oil with chard. Stir in zest and juice from half lemon, herbs and season to taste with kosher salt, freshly ground pepper and additional lemon zest and juice, if needed.
4. Ladle pasta onto individual plates or dishes and serve with grated Manchego cheese.

This recipe was written by Peggy Lampman and originally posted on AnnArbor.com on April 20, 2010.