Pasta Primavera

This past Sunday morning I was doing my usual thing - grocery shopping at 7am... While I was at the checkout counter I was looking at the cooking magazines. The magazine that caught my eye had a dish of pasta on the front. I will post the name when I go upstairs to get the recipe/magazine. EDIT: magazine name is the Mixing Bowl by Better Homes & Garden.

The directions and ingredients sounded so simple. It was a very easy dish to make and tasted great.

Garden Special Primavera

6 ounces fresh wax or green beans, cut into 2-inch pieces (2 cups)

1/2 cup bias-sliced carrots

6 ounces fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces (1 1/2 cups)

1 cup broccoli flowerets

12 ounces fettuccine, linguine, vermicelli or spaghetti

1 small red and/or yellow sweet pepper, cut into julienne strips

1 small zucchini or yellow summer squash, halved lengthwise and sliced (1 cup)

1 small onion, cut into thin wedges

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons butter

3/4 cup chicken broth

3/4 cup whipping cream

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese

2 ounces prosciutto or cooked ham, cut into thin strips (1/3 cup)

2 green onions, thinly sliced (1/4 cup)

2 tablespoons snipped fresh basil or 2 teaspoons dried based, crushed

finely shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)

1. In a large saucepan, cook beans and carrots in a small amount of boiling salted water for 10 minutes. Add asparagus and broccoli. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and cook 5 minutes more or till vegetables are crisp-tender. Drain.

2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, cook pasta according to package directions. Add sweet pepper and zucchini or yellow summer squash to pasta in boiling water for the last 3 minutes of cooking. Vegetable should be crisp-tender. Drain and return mixture to the saucepan. Add the bean mixture to the saucepan and keep it warm while preparing the sauce.

3. For the sauce; in a medium saucepan, cook onion and garlic in hot butter over medium heat for 5 to 8 minutes or until tender but not brown. Stir in chicken broth. Bring to boiling; reduce heat.

4. In a small bowl, stir together whipping cream and flour. Add cream mixture to saucepan. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Stir in the 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese, prosciutto or cooked ham, green onions and snipped basil. Cook and stir for 1 minute more. Pour sauce over pasta and vegetables. Toss gently to coat.

5. Arrange pasta mixture on a large serving platter. Sprinkle with additional Parmesan and garnish with basil sprigs, if you like. Make 6 main-dish servings.

**** Since I found this magazine at the check out counter, I did not use the green beans. I also sliced the peppers larger than julienne, since I do not have the skills to julienne things.