Delicious and Healthy Farfalle Primavera

A delicious meal that takes needs only 5 minutes of prep time! This Farfalle Primavera is a healthy and hearty meal that is perfect for using up some of those extra vegetables in your fridge.

I came up with this recipe as a way to use up some vegetables that I had in my fridge. I love eggplant and zucchini and would happily put them in everything, but my kids and husband don’t feel the same way. In order to make these delicious vegetables more appetizing to my family, I added grated parmesan, garlic, and olive oil: three ingredients they all love. This meal packs a healthy veggie punch that’s also incredibly delicious.

This Farfalle Primavera is very tasty. The vegetables are fresh and bright, while the parmesan is savoury, salty, and the chili adds a bit of a kick. All these beautiful flavours are brought together with the reserved pasta water which creates a silky sauce when combined with all the other ingredients. This meal is delicious, healthy, and hearty, and best of all it all comes together in under an hour.

TOTAL TIME

• Preparation Time – 5 minutes
• Cooking Time – 50 minutes
• Total Time – 55 minutes

INGREDIENTS FOR FARFALLE PRIMAVERA

All the ingredients for this Farfalle Primavera are easy to source from any local grocer.

• 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 cups Chopped Eggplant
• 1 cup Chopped Zucchini
• 1 cup Crimini Mushrooms
• 500 grams Farfalle Pasta
• 1 cup Parmesan, grated
• 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
• 2 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup pasta water, reserved
• 1 1/2 tsp Chili Flakes

CAN I MAKE THIS WITH ANOTHER KIND OF PASTA?

You can make this delicious meal with any pasta you wish, but I’d suggest using something short that will make for a good bite with the chopped vegetables. Fusilli, penne rigate, or gemelli would all work in this dish.

WHAT IS PANCETTA?

Pancetta is similar to American bacon. However, while bacon is smoked and purchased raw, pancetta is salt cured and dried, which means it is safe to eat without being cooked. Pancetta is a beautiful product that originates in Italy, but is very easy to find in most grocery stores. You can buy it in larger chunks or pre diced in most deli departments. I like to save myself some time and purchase it pre diced.

CAN I USE A DIFFERENT KIND OF OIL?

I wouldn’t suggest substituting a different kind of oil as the extra virgin olive oil as a delicious flavour to this meal. If you’d really like, you could use a neutral flavoured oil but you’d be missing out on an opportunity to add flavour.

INGREDIENT SUBSTITUTIONS

CAN I SUBSTITUTE OTHER VEGETABLES?

If you’d like, you could use acorn or butternut squash, broccoli rabe, or raddichio in this recipe. Each of them has a slightly different taste, but all would be healthy and delicious. The only vegetables I would avoid are tender leafy greens that would wilt and not be able to maintain their texture.

CAN I SUBSTITUTE PRE GRATED PARMESAN FOR FRESH PARMESAN?

Absolutely not. Pre grated Parmesan is an entirely different ingredient than fresh Parmesan. Fresh Parmesan is a beautiful sharp hard cheese that I use in almost all of my pasta recipes. It has a salty tang that is the perfect addition to any pasta dish, and adds a wonderful flavour to this pesto. Pre packaged Parmesan is processed and packed with chemicals that keep it shelf stable. It tastes nothing like fresh.

CAN I MAKE THIS VEGAN?

If you’d like to make this delicious meal vegan you could. I would suggest taking all the same steps, simply leaving out the parmesan. I’d suggest adding some tofu in with the garlic and chili flakes. The final dish will have a different flavour, but I promise you that it will still be delicious.

CAN I USE DIFFERENT KIND OF CHEESE INSTEAD OF PARMESAN?

This recipe requires a hard sharp cheese. If you’d like to substitute Parmesan for something else, you could use Pecorino or Grana Padano, both of which are delicious sharp cheeses.

I FORGOT TO RESERVE MY PASTA WATER! IS THERE A SUBSTITUTION?

The addition of pasta water is important in this recipe. The pasta water adds additional salt and flavour to the dish, while the starch aids the ingredients in clinging to the pasta. You can certainly substitute regular water if you forget to reserve pasta water, however the result will not be as silky and sumptuous.

EQUIPMENT FOR FARFALLE PRIMAVERA

Cooking With Carbs is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, but all of the equipment listed on this site is recommended without incentive and are products I strongly believe in.

Below is a list of the main equipment/kitchen tools needed to make this delicious dish:

• Heavy Bottomed Pan – My most used pan by far is my Le Creuset Braising Pan. It is made of heavy cast iron and coated in ceramic as all Le Creuset cast iron pans are. It’s large and deep which makes it perfect for everything from frying to making sauces. I can’t recommend it enough.

• Pot

• Wooden Spoon

• Chef Knife

• Cutting Board

COOKING DIRECTIONS FOR FARFALLE PRIMAVERA

This Farfalle Primavera can be prepared in under and hour. It is as simple to prepare as it is delicious, provided you follow a few rules:

1. Always use freshly grated Parmesan.
2. Roast your vegetables until golden.
3. Make sure to reserve some pasta water for your sauce.

MAKE AHEAD STORAGE

If you’d like to save time you can pre roast your vegetables in advance.

This delicious pasta can be stored in the fridge for up to four days, and can be frozen in an airtight container.

FINISHED DISH

Enjoy your Delicious and Healthy Farfalle Primavera!

OTHER VEGETARIAN DISHES

Roasted Crispy Cauliflower Tacos

Chickpea Feta Salad with Tahini Lemon Dressing

Crimini, Shiitake and Oyster Mushroom pizza

Savory Goat Cheese Mushroom Palmiers

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?

I’d love to know how it turned out! Please let me know by leaving a comment and rating below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #cooking.with.carbs.

Pin the image below if you would like to make this recipe later!

Did you make this Farfalle Primavera? Let us know in the comments below if it was as quick to prepare as we said it would be!