Disclosure: This post contains sponsored content in conjunction with Barilla.
It’s hard to believe, but just a few weeks ago, #MainSqueeze and I were in Italy, eating our way through Florence and Rome one pasta (and pizza) at a time. Our epic honeymoon adventure included stops in London, Florence, Rome and Krakow. Although we’ve been back for at least three weeks, I think I’m still adjusting!
Dawid and I are not your typical “stay in one place” vacationers – we want to see the sights, sounds and, most importantly, tastes while we’re exploring a new city. People always say in their recommendations, “Go to X or Y museum while you’re there,” and typically, we forego these recommendations, because if I go to a museum, I want to see ALL of it; much like when I go to a new city, I want to see ALL of it, not be cooped up in a museum (and have to eat museum food).
This week I was beyond thrilled to be invited to the Barilla® Collezione event at Spiaggia for a super special lunch where Top Chef winner, Joe Flamm, made us lunch using Barilla Collezione pasta. I’ve somehow also never been to Spiaggia, so I was incredibly excited, and then when I heard who the special guests were, my excitement hit the roof! Lunching with us on Tuesday was tennis SUPERSTAR, Roger Federer, and gold medal Olympic Alpine skier, Mikaela Shiffrin, both Barilla brand ambassadors. Roger and Mikaela are in town for this weekend’s huge Laver Cup tennis tournament (described to me at our lunch as “the World Cup of tennis – you can actually get free tickets to the Fan Zone featuring the Barilla Masters of Pasta Cucina here!). We were treated to a pasta cooking demonstration with Chef Joe and the special guests, where Roger let us in on the tidbit that he ate SO MUCH pasta growing up (and still).
In honor of our main course at lunch, Chef’s beautiful Pomodoro Fresco using Barilla Collezione Rigatoni as the star (which truly brought me back to Italy, where I ate pasta for every meal!) I decided to create a vegetarian pasta using my other new love from Italy – extra virgin lemon olive oil. I honestly can’t get enough lemon olive oil these days, with its rich, tangy flavor, and the results of my Garlicky Lemon Pasta Primavera were something I would be proud to serve Roger Federer, you know, if he just happened to swing by for lunch….
Want to create your own pasta perfection? Barilla Collezione makes it easy for you to get experiment and get creative in the kitchen! Each Collezione pasta shape is crafted into a traditional Italian bronze cut to create authentic Italian pasta with a texture that’s like homemade pasta, making your sauce of choice stick to the pasta.
Garlicky Lemon Pasta Primavera
- 1 Box Barilla Collezione Casarecce Pasta (this is my favorite pasta shape!)
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 pint mushrooms (any kind you like!)
- 15 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 handful asparagus, stems trimmed, and cut into 2 inch pieces
- 1 ear of corn, cut from cob
- 1 zucchini, halved and sliced thinly
- 1/4 cup extra virgin lemon olive oil (use a healthy squirt of lemon juice into your olive oil if you don’t have this on hand)
- 1 TBSP Italian herb mixture
- Salt & Pepper (I am LOVING French grey salt these days)
- Parmigiana Reggiano, to top
- Cook pasta according to directions on box. You want your noodles to have an al dente texture – i.e., don’t overcook them to mush! They should be firm to the taste. Drain and set aside.
- While the pasta is cooking wash and prepare the veggies. In a large frying pan, cook the garlic and onion on medium high heat. When they begin to soften, add the mushrooms.
- Once the mushrooms have started to brown, add the zucchini and asparagus, cooking just until tender. Add the halved cherry tomatoes and cook until they begin to give off juice. Quickly add the pasta to the pan. Turn to simmer.
- Whisk the herbs, lemon olive oil, salt and pepper (to taste) and drizzle over the pasta until coated. Serve immediately with or without Parmigiana Reggiano.
Note: What I love about this pasta is you can use almost any veggies you have in your fridge, so it’s perfect for whatever fresh veggies you have on hand! If you don’t happen to have all the ingredients above, substitute with what you have, and it’s sure to be just as delicious!
