Enjoy a light and creamy pasta: pasta primavera with fresh vegetables, a silky cream sauce, and less than half the fat … what's not to love? - A Better Way to Cook

Natural Health, May-June, 2003 by Elizabeth Germain

Pasta Primavera with Summer Squash and Sugar Snap Peas

Follow recipe for Classic Pasta Primavera, substituting 2 medium summer squash, cut into 1/2-inch dice, for zucchini, and 3/4 pound sugar snap peas, ends trimmed, for peas. Add sugar snaps to pot with asparagus and summer squash. Substitute 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley for basil.

PER SERVING: 475 CALORIES, 21 G PROTEIN, 13 G FAT, 6 G SATURATED FAT, 34 MG CHOLESTEROL, 73 G CARBOHYDRATES, 9 G FIBER, 167 MG SODIUM, 15% CALCIUM

Pasta Primavera with Green Beans and Saffron

Follow recipe for Classic Pasta Primavera, adding 1/4 teaspoon crumbled saffron threads to the sauce along with broth and cream. Substitute 1 pound green beans, cut diagonally into 3/4-inch pieces, for asparagus. Replace lemon zest with equal amount of orange zest.

PER SERVING: 487 CALORIES, 21 G PROTEIN, 13 G FAT, 6 G SATURATED FAT, 34 MG CHOLESTEROL, 76 G CARBOHYDRATES, 10 G FIBER, 224 MG SODIUM, 14% CALCIUMS

Consider This

Spring for a
New Classic

Here's how our pasta primavera compares
to the original version from The
New New York Times Cookbook by
Craig Claiborne (Times Books, 1979).

                Ours     Theirs

Calories        477      1,043
Fat             13 g     55 g
Saturated Fat   6 g      18 g
Sodium          225 mg   495 mg

The Bottom Line

To limit your exposure to potentially harmful pesticides, antibiotics, and hormones, buy organic ingredients whenever possible.

Elizabeth Germain is a personal chef and food writer living in Chilmark, Mass.