It is almost time to officially wave goodbye to winter and welcome the arrival of spring! It might still be cold, it might still be wet, but the evenings are lengthening, so it’s time to food prep!
Springtime always makes me think of trips to Europe, especially to Italy where the word Primavera literally translates to spring. In the world of food, the term refers to fresh vegetables. In this low-cal entree dish recipe, I use a variety of vegetables of different colors. This dish is also a great way to add a lot of veggies into your meal and if you don’t have the exact ingredients that I list, feel free to use up all of those veggies in your fridge instead!
LOW-CAL PASTA PRIMAVERA
Yields 2-3 servings (just add more pasta and veggies for additional servings).
INGREDIENTS
- Your favorite gluten free pasta (approx. 4 oz)
- Salt
- Olive oil
- Fresh veggies including 1 red onion, 1 head of broccoli (cut into florets), red and yellow bell pepper (1 each, diced), zucchini (diced), tomatoes (I used heirloom for their flavor) and garlic
- 2 T dried Italian seasoning
- 2 T fresh lemon juice
- 2 T chopped fresh parsley
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan
DIRECTIONS
While the pasta is boiling, cook the veggies so they will finish at the same time as the pasta. Once the pasta is done, drain.
To cook the veggies, heat olive oil in a deep 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add red onion and sauté 2 minutes.
Add broccoli and bell pepper then sauté for 2 minutes. Add zucchini then sauté 2 – 3 minutes or until veggies have nearly softened. Add the tomatoes as the final vegetable. The juice from the tomatoes, combined with the oil will create a tasty, low-cal sauce for the pasta. Add salt to taste.
Add garlic, and Italian seasoning and sauté 2 minutes longer.
Pour veggies into now empty pasta pot or a serving bowl, add drained pasta, drizzle in lemon juice, season with a little more salt as needed and toss while adding in pasta water to loosen as desired. Top with parmesan cheese and parsley.
