Scooting around the Internet reveals many recipes for this pasta-and-vegetables dish but no agreement on what to include. So I'll tell you what went into my version tonight. First, I peeled and julienned a couple of carrots. Then I cut about a dozen asparagus stalks into 5 cm lengths.
These got cooked for about five minutes in boiling water.
Half a red pepper got julienned too. The broad beans (see previous post) were shelled. A couple of large spring onions, thinly sliced. A couple of garlic cloves, finely chopped. A couple of tomatoes, slung into boiling water for 30 seconds, skinned, seeded and chopped. That was it, I think. And remembering to put a large amount of water on to boil for the pasta.
A lump of butter went into the large non-stick pan. Then onions, red pepper and garlic all went in over low heat for a couple of minutes, just enough to soften them. A big glug of vermouth--and a digression. I still can't get used to living in a country where it's financially possible to keep bottles of red, white and rosé wines open and ready for cooking. Back in North America, I used white vermouth as an all-purpose stand-in--and I still do.
Right, pasta into the saucepan and the timer on for 12 minutes. Tomatoes into the vegetable pan, lid back on, and everything left to cook very, very gently for a few minutes. The pre-cooked vegetables went in next and the lid went back on. Then, at the last minute, I added a meagre dollop of crème fraiche, tossed it all with the drained pasta and threw a large amount of chopped parsley over the top. Strawberries and crème fraîche for dessert.
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