I am pretty sure that we have all eaten Pasta Primavera, usually badly made, at some point or the other. Rather than the usual bad restaurant version that often surfaces, of frozen peas and carrots drenched in a thick Parmesan cream sauce, It is supposed to be a dish starring delicate spring vegetables served with penne, lightly seasoned with a Parmesan cream. I always thought that it would be better with winter vegetables and have therefore come up with a winter version of the dish.
6 cups assorted winter vegetables, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 shallot, still in the peel
2 cloves, garlic still in the peel
3 sprigs thyme
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
4 Tbsps cream
1/3 cup grated Parmesan plus a bit more to finish the dish
4 portions penne pasta
Salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 350.
Place all the vegetables as well as the shallot and garlic on a lined baking dish. Distribute the thyme over the top, drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. This is a very versatile pasta dish so use what you have - I used carrots, beets and Brussels sprouts that I had left in the fridge from other dishes and threw in a jalapeno for good measure. At the very last minute, I threw some chopped spinach into the cream sauce, right before adding the pasta. It wilted nicely.
Place in the oven and bake for 30-45 minutes, stirring the vegetables at the half way mark so that you redistribute the oil and so that they cook on all sides. Taste them at 30 minutes to see how they are getting along and how much longer they will need.
About 10 minutes before they come out of the oven, put the salted water for the pasta on to boil and, once it has, cook the penne according to the direction on the box before draining.
While the pasta is cooking, the vegetables should be ready to come out of the oven. Set them aside but remove the garlic cloves and the shallot.
Heat the butter in a large, deep skillet over low heat and squeeze in the cooked garlic, discard the peel. Squeeze the shallot onto a chopping board and chop roughly, discard peel. Add to the garlic butter and mix well, pressing down on the garlic to help it dissolve into the butter.
As soon as the garlic is a nutty golden brown, add the cream and 1/3 cup of the pasta cooking liquid. Stir well and allow to cook for a minute or so until the sauce has thickened.
Add the cooked pasta and cook well to combine. Add the Parmesan and stir well to combine with the pasta and melt into the sauce. Last but not least, tip in the vegetables and combine with the other elements in the dish.
Adjust for seasoning and portion out into four pasta bowls. Either serve with grated Parmesan on the side or dust the top of each bowl with a bit more grated cheese.