Primavera is Italian for “spring,” and that’s what this dish tastes like. It was created at Le Cirque, New York’s famed restaurant, in the 1970s because some high-flying and health-conscious patrons complained that they wanted lighter and healthier dishes. The original version was labor-intensive because you had to not only dice all the vegetables, but also blanch them in different pots. My version cuts out the blanching, and instead you roast the vegetables and end up with a sweet, caramelized, intensely flavored bite. Consider doubling the recipe; it only gets better the next day.

　　

Ingredients

6 first-course servings

　　3 carrots, peeled

　　2 medium or 1 large zucchini

　　2 yellow summer squash

　　1 yellow bell pepper

　　1 red bell pepper

　　1 onion, thinly sliced

　　1/4 cup olive oil

　　1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs or herbes de Provence

　　2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste

　　2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

　　1 pound dried farfalle pasta (bow-tie pasta)

　　15 cherry tomatoes, halved

　　3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Cut the carrots, zucchini, squash, and bell peppers into thin 2-inch-long strips. On a large, heavy baking sheet, toss the vegetable strips, onion, oil, dried herbs, and 2 teaspoons each of salt and pepper to coat. Transfer half of the vegetable mixture to another large, heavy baking sheet, and arrange the vegetables evenly over both sheets. Bake, stirring after the first 10 minutes, until the carrots are tender and the other vegetables begin to brown, about 20 minutes total.

　　

Step 2

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the farfalle and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. In a large bowl, toss the pasta with the cooked vegetables to combine. Add the cherry tomatoes and enough of the reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta with more salt and pepper to taste.

　　

Step 3

Transfer the pasta to bowls. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.

　　Reprinted with permission from Everyday Italian: 125 Simple and Delicious Recipes by Martha Stewart Living Magazine. Copyright © 2005 by Giada De Laurentiis. Published by Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.Giada De Laurentiis is the star of Food Network's Everyday Italian and Behind the Bash. She attended the Cordon Bleu in Paris, and then worked in a variety of Los Angeles restaurants, including Wolfgang Puck's Spago, before starting her own catering and private-chef company, GDL Foods. The granddaughter of movie producer Dino De Laurentiis, Giada was born in Rome and grew up in Los Angeles, where she now lives.