Pasta Primavera

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I ran across this recipe somewhere online, possibly one of the Face Book ads.  It is adapted from Julia Della Croce's recipe in William Sonoma's The Pasta Book.  I took a few liberties and made it a little like a Carbonara.  It's a great way to use the veggies of spring.  This particular recipe uses asparagus, peas and herbs.  It's an easy quick and delicious recipe.

Pasta Primavera

1lb asparagus, cut into 1" pieces
salt and ground pepper
1 C fresh or frozen peas
3Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp olive oil
6 green onions, thinly sliced on a diagonal
1 yellow onion chopped
6oz baby spinach, roughly chopped
1/2C cream
2Tbsp minced fresh mint
1/4C minced fresh flat leaf parsley
1lb linguine
1 egg beaten
2Tbsp grated parmesan
extra Parmesan for serving

In a large pot bring 5 qt water to a boil.  Add 2 Tbs salt, and the asparagus to the boiling water and cook until tender, about 6 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon remove the asparagus and set aside.  Reserve the water.
In a large frying pan (large enough to hold the pasta) melt the butter with the oil over medium heat.  Add the green and yellow onions and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the spinach, 1/2tsp salt and several grinds of pepper.  Saute until the spinach is wilted.  Add the asparagus and the peas then stir in the cream and warm until hot.  Add the mint and parsley and stir well.  Remove from heat and keep warm.
Return the water to a boil add the pasta, stir well and cook until al dente.
If the sauce has cooled return it to medium heat to warm add the pasta and toss until the strands are coated.  Beat the egg, add the parmesan cheese combine well.  Pour the egg mixture into the pasta mixture and toss well.  Serve immediately with extra parmesan cheese on the side.

4 servings

SUNDAYS WITH MARLENA SPIELER-LUBIYA

LUBIYA is the Sephardi Israeli soup made with black eyed peas.

1C dried black eyed peas or 2 cans
1Tbsp olive oil
2 chopped onions
4 cloves garlic chopped
2-3 mild fresh chilies or 1 medium hot chili chopped
1tsp ground cumin
1tsp ground tumeric
90z fresh or canned chopped tomatoes
21/2C chicken stock, beef or vegetable stock
1 oz cilantro(coriander) chopped
juice of half a lemon

If using dried peas- put the beans in a pan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let sit covered for 2 hours. Drain the beans and return the peas to the pan and cover with cold water and then simmer the peas for 35-40 minutes or until the peas are tender. Drain and set aside.
I used canned black eyed peas simply out of laziness or ease so if you do the same skip the first part and continue with the second part:
Heat the oil in the pan and add the onions, garlic and chili and cook for 5 minutes or until the onion is soft. Stir in the cumin, tumeric, tomatoes, stock, half the cilantro (coriander), and the beans and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and the remaining cilantro.
Serves 4
Serve with pita bread or any nice bread.

I had chopped the onions and garlic earlier in the day so when I got ready to make the soup it was very quick to make. The soup was done was done start to finish within a half an hour.
It is a very flavorful soup.