Veggie Pasta with Herb Butter and Parmesan

Talk about simple. This pasta is full of flavor and takes just a few minutes. You can use any veggies you want, but I find the pre-packed bags of vegetables at the grocery store makes this recipe a snap. For this pasta I used broccoli, cauliflower and baby carrots along with some celery and capers I had in the fridge.

The ultimate flavors come from my recipe for herb butter. The herb butter has Italian spices and of course fresh garlic. To begin, I put a sauté pan on medium-low heat and used the herb butter to sweat and steam the veggies. You don’t want the heat too high or else the butter will burn and the veggies won’t get a chance to cook properly. You can also steam the veggies separately before adding them to the pasta.

Once the veggies were done (tender, but still with a little bite), I turned off the stove top and sprinkled some shredded parmesan over the top. I then added the pasta and mixed all the ingredients together in the pan as the parmesan quickly melted. Just transfer to a plate with tongs and you’re done.

I love this recipe because it’s fast and simple. The aroma of garlic from the herb butter along with wonderful, gooey blobs (is that the right word?) of parmesan. The celery seems to be best at soaking up the flavor of the herb butter and the little, salty capers fit right in.

This is one of those recipes you don’t really need exact measurements. The pictures above could probably feed two, even though I scarfed it down myself. :-)

I used about a one inch circumference of angel hair pasta. In the sauté pan, I just added a nice handful of veggies and used two hefty tablespoons of the herb butter. 1/2 to 3/4 cup of shredded parmesan should also do the job.

Butter, cheese and pasta don’t sound very health conscious, but at least you’re getting your veggies.

 

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