a star is born

No doubt, you’ve dined in many Italian restaurants or perused enough cookbooks and food magazines to know what to expect when you order or see a recipe for pasta primavera.  A lovely pasta dish filled with fresh seasonal vegetables, primavera means spring in Italian, so freshness is what it’s all about.  But did you know that there was no such thing as pasta primavera on menus and in cookbooks until after 1975?

Although the dish is derived from centuries-old genuine Italian dishes, its name and widespread popularity were created by two culinary icons, Sirio Maccioni, the owner of Le Cirque in New York City, and Craig Claiborne, the legendary New York Times food editor and restaurant critic.

In May 1975 a group of chefs and gourmets, including Claiborne, were traveling through New York City to Canada when Maccioni prepared a dish for the group using spaghetti, fresh vegetables, frozen peas, and cream.  A guest asked what the dish was called and Maccioni responded, “spaghetti primavera.”  A week later, Claiborne wrote in his column that spaghetti primavera was “the best pasta discovery in twenty years.”  As a result, diners flocked to Le Cirque only to find that it was not on the menu. Maccioni hadn’t felt as though he had created a new dish, it was just a variation of a classic Italian recipe he had known from his childhood in rural Tuscany, but he finally obliged his guests and decided that it could be ordered: “off the menu.”

This is the penne primavera I created for students to make for our pasta class these past two weeks and HERE IS A LINK to the original Le Cirque version, which was published in the premiere issue of Food & Wine Magazine in 1978.

Penne Primavera

1 pound penne pasta
1/4 cup olive oil
6 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 pounds asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups frozen baby peas, thawed
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon minced fresh sage
1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano
1 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
In a very large skillet, heat the olive oil.  Add the garlic and cook over low heat, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth and boil over high heat until the liquid reduced by half, about 8 – 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the penne and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain.

Add the cream to the reduced liquid in the skillet and boil over high heat until the sauce has thickened, about 4 minutes.  Stir in the asparagus and peas and cook until the asparagus is just tender about 5 minutes.  Toss in the penne and stir until pasta is heated through.

Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, sage, oregano, and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer the pasta to serving bowls, sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese, and serve immediately.

Serves 8