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Jacques Pépin Makes Pasta Primavera

Premiere: 8/18/2022 | 00:05:32 |

This versatile pasta recipe, adapted from Jacques' friend Ed Giobbi, can be tossed with a salad of any vegetables that are in season. Microwaving the veggies helps this dish come together quickly.

About the Episode

Serves 4

“This is my friend Ed Giobbi’s recipe. He created this dish many years ago in New York. Ed talked about his grandmother’s recipe that tossed pasta with a salad of raw tomatoes or early spring vegetables. Now known as pasta primavera, it’s one of my favorite dishes that heralds the arrival of spring. Don’t be restricted by my recipe; include any young and abundant vegetables of the season.” —Jacques Pépin

Ingredients:

Salt
8 ounces dried campanelle, bow tie, fusilli or penne pasta
1 cup ½-inch diced zucchini
1 large tomato, diced, about 1½ cups
½ cup frozen or leftover corn
½ sweet onion, such as Vidalia, chopped
1 tablespoon minced jalapeño
1 to 2 garlic cloves, chopped
½ cup pitted olives, coarsely chopped
2 to 3 tablespoons chopped chives, plus more for garnish
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese, plus additional as needed
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

Method:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the pasta according to the manufacturer’s instructions or to your liking. Drain, reserving a cup of the pasta water.

In a large microwavable bowl combine the zucchini, tomato, corn, onion, jalapeño, garlic, olives and chives. Season with salt. Stir in the ¼ cup of cheese and ⅓ cup olive oil and mix well. Heat the mixture in the microwave on high power until warmed through, 3 to 5 minutes.

Add the drained pasta to the bowl with the vegetables; toss well, adding additional cheese and loosening the mixture with the reserved pasta water, as needed. Spoon into bowls, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with more chives. Serve immediately.

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"I feel that if Jacques Pépin shows you how to make an omelet, the matter is pretty much settled. That’s God talking. "
TRANSCRIPT

(upbeat music) - Hi, I'm Jacques Pépin, and this is 'American Masters at Home.'

(upbeat music continues) I'm gonna do a pasta dish today, a pasta dish inspired by my friend, Ed, Ed Giobbi.

He's a famous painter and all that, very terrific cook.

He wrote several cookbooks.

And years ago, I remember in New York when Le Cirque was Le Cirque with Sirio, he's the one who came out with the 'Pasta Primavera' that he said his mother used to do which was really a tomato salad, fresh with the pasta mix in it.

Then it changed a great deal.

So I'm going to use, I use ziti, fusilli, bow tie, penne.

This is campanelle.

It doesn't really matter.

I have half a pound here in salted water.

We get to a boil, and it tells you, I cook it about 10 minutes, but I'll probably cook it slightly longer.

I don't like my pasta too al dente.

So all of that are going to become the sauce for my pasta.

And what you do, you do that like you do a salad, just with frozen corn.

This is a Vidalia type of onion, you know, which is a mild onion.

Jalapeño there.

I have done that in full summer, only with a tomato salad and basil.

I have basil in full summer in my garden.

I use basil a great deal.

Zucchini.

Yeah, I should have a good cup here.

Got a nice clove of garlic here.

Two, three tablespoons of chives.

One tomato.

Hmm, I probably have a cup and a half here, that tomato was pretty large.

I have a lot of vegetables here.

I'm gonna put some Parmesan cheese now, quarter of a cup, and certainly a fair amount of olive oil here.

I would say a third of a cup of olive oil or so.

Salt.

And the pepper, I'll wait because of the jalapeño to see how hot it is here.

Okay. I mean, you could have that set out just like this.

I'm gonna put that in the microwave for like three minutes.

See what happens.

Well, I end up putting my mixture here five minutes in the microwave oven.

So now it's warm and that's it.

The pasta, of course it's cooked.

We drain out the water.

And that goes directly in there, okay.

Now that looks great, great mixture here.

I will probably add more cheese on top of it here.

Not that hot and the zucchini is just a bit crunchy.

And that's it.

The 'Pasta a la Ed Giobbi.'

Have to gild the lily a little bit, maybe a dash of olive oil on top.

If you want even a little more chives, but this is it.

Great dish.

I hope you enjoy doing it.

A great summer dish.

Happy cooking.

(upbeat music) Thank you for joining me.

For more, subscribe to this channel or watch here.

Thank you and happy cooking.

(upbeat music continues)

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