Spring Farmers Market Pasta

Many spring vegetables are either exceedingly light in flavor, or very bitter and I’ve found that a squeeze of citrus and a bit of fat (but not too much or you’ll miss out on some flavors entirely) works well with both ends of the spectrum. That’s why this recipe includes lemon and olive oil, as well as parmesan cheese.

The majority of interest for this recipes comes with the “sauce” for the pasta. I’m pretty convinced the general combination of citrus, herbs, greens and an allium (onion, shallot, scallion, garlic, etc.) in a food processor will work in so many combinations, it’s deserving of its own term: Market Dressing.

It’s flexible depending on what you find, and easy to adjust based on the herbs and citrus at hand. For example: lemon, mint, parsley, spinach, shallot would be great with fish. More testing is in progress, but let’s make Market Dressing a thing.

This pasta recipe works as an entire meal. You could add chicken if you’re looking to add protein, but I found myself pretty happy with a bowl of this on its own. Then again bucatini pasta and any toppings and I’m on cloud nine. I like bucatini for its sturdiness. It holds up well as a leftover, it doesn’t melt into a sauce or break easily. If you take anything away from today’s recipe it’s ‘try bucatini’.

I hope you take inspiration from this recipe to give some late winter and early spring produce items a try. This was my first time actually making broccoli rabe at home! Buy the pretty produce, give it a whirl. And when in doubt, make Market Dressing.