One Pot + Spring Veggies + Mussels
A pasta to end a hunger strike
We had a strike happening in our house the last 2 weeks! A 1 year old who refused anything other than blackberries, raspberries and the occasional banana. Who doesn't want buttered toast, chicken nuggets and pasta?! His 1 year check up revealed that between the ages of 9 months old and 12 months old he had only gained 1 pound. The doctor put me at ease and said he’s perfectly healthy, just a skinny boy who’s a calorie burning machine. But at the same time, this is my boy! He NEEDS to love eating! Because having children is all about projecting my own wants and desires on him, right?
One Pot Pasta Primavera with Mussels
I have been making a pasta for year’s that’s based on a recipe from The River Cafe’s book Italian Two Easy (amazing book). It has ditalini, cream and mussels that you take out of the shell. It’s decadent in both it’s ingredients and preparation. And SO comforting. But there’s no veg in it. So this week I thought fusing Pasta Primavera with that dish would be a good idea and Bonus: It’s a One Pot Pasta. It was a great idea! HALLELUJAH! Dean ate a whole bowl of it, with excitement. I mean honestly if he didn't like that, then he might have been switched at birth. There is something extremely satisfying about all the elements (pasta, mussels, peas and asparagus) being the same shape and size. The pasta eats like a thick, creamy stew almost. I eat mine with a spoon.
I didn’t have the luxury of hitting up the farmers market this last weekend but if I had I would have added even more spring produce in here. Like snap peas cut into tiny bites just like the asparagus or fresh fava beans. But my Whole Foods often has local seasonal produce like the asparagus and chives I used. Because that’s what Primavera means - “Spring” in Italian. No, it was not invented by The Olive Garden. I don’t know for a fact they have Pasta Primavera on the menu, but my snarky NYC bitchy side is just imagining it. A true Pasta Primavera is a celebration of Spring’s bounty in a pasta dish, just held together with some cream (even that is probably inauthentic, who really knows). If you’d like to celebrate Spring in a pasta bowl, this recipe will be going out to subscribers only later today. If you’re not yet subscribed and you’d like to be, click that button below.
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What I’m Loving This Week:
Veggie & Tortilla Chip Scramble: I’ve been making this a lot lately for breakfast and lunch. Butter in the pan > chopped up small leftover veggies (onion, broccoli, peas, asparagus, spinach) > Eggs > crumbled tortilla chips > hot sauce! It’s so good and a great vehicle for hot sauce or salsa.
Shakes/ Smoothies: We ebb and flow in this house with morning smoothies. Right now we’re on a big smoothie run because *sometimes* Dean will drink one for breakfast. Here are two of my favorite combos to get you inspired. 1. Banana, frozen wild blueberries, almond butter, ground flax seeds, scoop of yogurt or kefir, ice & water. 2. Mango, little banana, handful spinach, mint, lime, scoop of yogurt or kefir, collagen powder, hemp seeds, ice & water.
My Le Creuset 5 Quart Brasier: I don’t just love this pan this week, I love this pan every single week forever and ever. It’s what I made the pasta in and it’s what I make so many amazing dishes in. The shape is so perfect for pastas, stir fries, braises and beyond. I have the white one, which matches my style, and you can serve right in the pan. The price is steep. I got mine as a wedding gift. But I imagine I will be cooking in this for years to come.
Below is my one of my favorite paintings aptly named Primavera by Botticelli. I was an Art History Minor in college and not that I can remember it all now of course, but I loved learning about the overt and hidden symbolism in this painting. It was most likely painted for the Medici family and if you know about art you know all the juicy tales surrounding those people. I also love the dress on the woman second to the right. It looks like Zimmerman to me!
Hope everyone’s household is full of good food this week! Xo Liv
PS: After I finished the newsletter, I went ahead and googled “Pasta Primavera Olive Garden” and my intuition was correct- there is one on their menu and plenty of copycat recipes online. I’ll let you fill in the blanks on what I think of it.