Simple, Elegant Pasta Dinners by Nikki Marie

Author:Nikki Marie
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Page Street Publishing
Published: 2019-08-06T16:00:00+00:00

“You can buy a good pasta but when you cook it yourself it has another feeling.”

—Agnes Varda

SPRING

Here in New Jersey, the early days of spring struggle hard against the last breaths of winter. Often, we are caught in the middle, between dark frost-bitten mornings and mild, pleasant afternoons. In time, spring gains momentum and the first harvest is at hand. For many of us, the first harvest is the elusive, pink-tinged ramp. If you happen to see them, act quickly as their season is fleeting. In the time it takes to boil water, you can make a wonderful pasta meal out of them using my recipe for Tagliatelle with Wild Ramps and Aleppo Pepper.

Soon, asparagus moves up slowly through the dark, damp soil, its arrival trumpeting the beginning of the first main harvest! The farm markets in town that sat quiet and dark all winter long unfurl their “Our Own Fresh Asparagus!” banners that billow in the cool April wind. For me, that officially marks the culinary transition from winter to spring. Just like that, my braising pots are replaced by baking sheets crowded with farm-fresh asparagus spears lightly salted and massaged in olive oil and briefly roasted to perfection. I toss together my Tortellini Salad with Roasted Asparagus Pesto, hands down one of the easiest and most satisfying ways to welcome early spring.

As the season progresses with milder evenings, our pasta recipes reflect the same, becoming lighter and brighter. One of my most beloved dishes for its ease and simplicity is Spinach and Avocado Linguine. A quick blend of raw avocado and baby spinach, scented with garlic and a squeeze of bright lemon, is all it takes for this no-cook sauce to coat silky tendrils of linguine, made in less time than it takes to boil pasta water. This is my go-to dish for that first balmy spring evening when dinner simply must go from the stove straight to the patio.

The pasta recipes you’ll find in this chapter reflect the mixed temperament of the season and the long-awaited green hues of new life thriving just outside of our doors.

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