Description
The colors and textures of this pasta dish make it appealing to the eye and the stomach.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2½ lbs mixed spring vegetables, such as sugar snap-pea pods, snow peas, small broccoli florets, and pencil-thin asparagus, cut into 2– to 3-inch lengths
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 small leek, cut in thin matchsticks
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 6 oz small morel mushrooms, halved, or button mushrooms, sliced thin
- 1 cup (8 oz) crème fraîche
- 1 cup (8 oz) mascarpone cheese
- 1 lb fettucine (a mix of plain fettucine with either a spinach or tomato variety adds even more color)
- Salt
- 1 cup fresh shelled peas
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup minced fresh basil
- ½ cup pine nuts
Instructions
- Prepare a large bowl about half full of icy cold water and reserve it.
- Over boiling water, steam each of the mixed vegetables separately just until tender. Each will cook only briefly, but the cooking times will vary a bit.
- When cooked, plunge each vegetable into the bowl of cold water and let it sit, adding a handful of ice cubes each time you add a new vegetable.
- When all the vegetables have been steamed and chilled, drain them well and set them aside at room temperature. These steps can be taken earlier in the day that you plan to serve the pasta, refrigerating the vegetables in the meantime. Let them return to room temperature before proceeding.
- Warm the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the leek and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and mushrooms, and cook until the mushrooms are limp, about 5 additional minutes.
- Stir in the crème fraîche and mascarpone, and when they’ve melted into a smooth sauce, remove the pan from the heat. (The sauce can be made ahead, covered, and refrigerated. Reheat before proceeding.)
- Cook the pasta in boiling salted water according to the package directions. Drain it and immediately toss it together in a large bowl with the sauce. When the pasta is well coated, mix it with the steamed vegetables, and the shelled peas (which will cook lightly from the residual heat). Arrange the pasta on a large platter or shallow serving bowl, and scatter with parmesan, basil, and pine nuts. Serve warm.