“garbage” pasta

As I mentioned a few days ago, I make it my mission to clean out the fresh food in my refrigerator before we go out of town. The easiest way to do that in the winter is to make a soup and the easiest way the rest of the year is to make pasta. I call this “garbage” pasta because I’ll put any and everything in it.

This particular time, I had a partial box of cherry tomatoes plus fresh heirloom tomatoes from my garden. In addition, there were partial bags of green beans and sugar snap peas. I always have garlic and onion on hand, so those always start the dish.

The first step is to get a big pot of water boiling. Add salt and blanch vegetables such as green beans, sugar snap peas, asparagus, snow peas, carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower for a couple of minutes. Use a slotted spoon or spider to remove them and have a big bowl of ice water ready to drop them into – to stop the cooking.

Once they’ve cooled down, drain and set aside.

Bring the water back to a boil and cook the pasta.

While the pasta cooks, saute onion and garlic in olive oil. Once the onions are translucent, season with salt, pepper, dried chili flakes, and other spices or dried herbs of your liking.

Add your drained vegetables and any other soft vegetables such as tomatoes, corn, zucchini, etc. Add any cooked meats you may have on hand. I had leftover cooked Italian sausage.

At this point, you can add cream, milk, half-and-half, sour cream, chicken stock, or even pasta water to make a creamy sauce. Add the cooked and drained pasta, and thin out with more liquid if needed. I usually add another drizzle of olive oil or a pat of butter at the end. Then I taste and season and serve.

Easy!