Anytime Tomato Primavera Sauce

Name: Anytime Tomato Primavera Sauce
Yield: about 5 cups, enough to dress 1 1/2 pounds of pasta
Ingredients: 3 cups or so total of the following in any colorful combination:; Zucchini, sliced crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces; Small broccoli florets on short stems, about 1 inch wide (slice if necessary); Asparagus stalks, trimmed and sliced on the bias into 3/4-inch pieces; Green beans, trimmed and sliced on the bias into 3/4-inch lengths; 1 cup frozen peas; Or equivalent amounts of cut-up cauliflower, peppers, leeks; 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 1 small onion, cut in 1/4-inch-thick half-moon slices (about 1/2 cup); 4 fat garlic cloves, sliced (about 1/4 cup); 1/4 teaspoon dried peperoncino (hot red pepper flakes); 2 cups fresh mushrooms, stems trimmed, sliced 1/4 inch thick, or a mixture of cremini, common mushrooms, and shiitake (caps only); 1/2 teaspoon salt; 2 cups (half of a 35-ounce can) canned San Marzano or other Italian plum tomatoes, with juices, crushed by hand into small chunks; Boiling salted pasta-cooking water; 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (optional); 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano; 8-quart pasta-cooking pot; A large bowl with ice water; A 12-inch or larger skillet for the sauce and the pasta

December 14, 2011

You don’t have to wait for primavera—springtime—to make this quick skillet sauce. You probably have most of the ingredients in your pantry and refrigerator all year: canned tomatoes, onions, garlic, a few perennially fresh vegetables like broccoli, mushrooms, and zucchini, and sweet peas from the freezer. (The recipe lists the vegetables I prefer, but don’t be afraid to use others, if that’s what you have on hand.) A key step here is parboiling the firm green vegetables and shocking them in ice water. Then they will only need to heat briefly in the tomato sauce and will keep their own colors, flavors, and textures. This recipe yields about 5 cups or more of sauce, depending on the vegetables. If that looks like more than you need for the amount of pasta you are cooking, take the extra sauce out of the skillet before you toss in the pasta. (See box, page 97.) Refrigerate the reserved sauce and use within 2 or 3 days, or freeze it for a few weeks (it will still taste good, although the color of the vegetables changes a bit in reheating it).

Recipe notes