Pasta Primavera with Chive Gremolata

Pasta for the whole family so often reverts to a tomato based affair, and whilst it can have numerous variations and be utterly delicious it can also become a little monotonous – you need some variety in your life, after all!

I’ve been really craving bright green veg recently – I think the change in season has altered my taste buds and I’m suddenly after colour and freshness. In browsing some cookbooks to get some supper inspiration I came across a risotto primavera but wasn’t quite in the mood for a rice dish, so instead I decided to mix up the idea and it turned into a pasta dish. And not just any old pasta dish, a blinding stunner of a spring pasta dish full of green vibrancy.

The gremolata may seem a step too far, but it really adds the finishing touch, without it the sauce loses it zip and zing, but with it it’s transported to the realms of utterly delicious.

Pasta Primavera with Chive Gremolata (dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free,  can be soya-free, sesame-free, vegetarian and vegan)

serves 2

• 3 spring onions, white only, finely sliced
• Zest of 1/2 a lemon
• 1 tbsp chives, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Handful asparagus, chopped into 2 cm long pieces
• Handful frozen peas, defrosted,
• The green parts of the spring onions
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Handful watercress
• Handful parsley, shredded
• 4 tbsp dairy-free cream
• Salt and pepper
• 180g dried pasta

1. First make the Gremolata. Fry the spring onions in the oil until starting to turn golden. Tip into a bowl and add the lemon and chives. Set aside

1. Put the pasta on to cook. In the same frying pan you’d used for the spring onion frying, add a splash of oil and the onions and asparagus. When they’ve started to soften after a couple of minutes, add the peas and garlic and continue to cook, stirring now and then.
2. Once all the veg is tender add the watercress, parsley and cream, pour in a ladleful of the pasta water to make the sauce silky. Taste and season.
3. Once cooked add the pasta to the sauce and toss well. Serve with Gremolata sprinkled on top.