Light and Fresh

Food-wise, summer and spring are my favorite seasons. It’s around this time that you start seeing all sorts of fresh, local veggies in the stores and at farmer’s markets. Everything is so bright and pretty and tastes wonderful. This is one of my favorite, easy meals. It’s light and refreshing. You can use any kind of veggies but these are my personal preferences. Use the freshest possible ingredients. I’ve even found fresh garlic and onions. (Scapes, the garlic flower are also around now.) Garlic chives also go well.

Veggies in Broth with Pasta

Olive oil
1 head broccoli or asparagus spears, chopped into bite sized pieces
1 red pepper, cut into strips
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, diced
1.5 cups chicken or veggie broth
.5 c white wine (optional)
1 can cannelini beans (white beans)
red pepper flakes
salt
pepper
pasta- any kind works but gnocchi is my favorite with this
Parmesan cheese (optional), freshly grated

Saute the vegetables in some olive oil, about 1 TB, enough to coat the pan. Once the broccoli has begun to turn bright green, transfer veggies to a bowl. Add the broth and wine to the pan and reduce to half. (About 10 minutes over medium high heat.) Add the pepper flakes, salt, pepper, to taste. Drain and add the beans. While broth is reducing, bring water to a boil for the pasta. Salt the water once it comes to a boil (never before) and add the pasta. Cook till al dente or to taste. Add the pasta and the veggies into the broth. Stir and cook for another 2-4 minutes to let the flavors mix. Serve and top with cheese.
Mozzarella is also a good cheese to use as is fontina.
You can also add some cooked chicken to this dish. Fresh arugula would also be a nice addition.
Farmer’s market purchases: scapes, baby lettuce, spinach. We got there a little late this week so much of the good stuff was gone.