It’s taken me a while to feel inspired to cook spring recipes due to the move/renos and the on-again, off-again spring weather (ahem, fresh blanket of snow last week), but now I can say it finally feels like spring. Today also happens to be Earth Day which is even more reason to eat some plants. I love this time of the year and it’s been fun experiencing spring with a backyard again! Oh how I missed having a backyard. The tulips and daffodils are coming up, the frisky red squirrel is trying its best to take down our bird feeder, and Sketchie is sniffing the spring air through the screen door while the birds, bunnies, and squirrels drive him insane. It’s a good time of year.
Now that we’re starting to get settled into the new house, I’m finding my way back to the kitchen and away from the Indian food take-out menu (at least some of the time). The kitchen is slowly starting to feel like home, complete with fresh tea and vanilla extract stains on the laminate countertops (those were not designed for an avid cook, I tell you! ahhh) and the padded chef’s mat underneath my feet. Every time I cook in there, I get a bit more familiar with my new space and I find myself cursing less and less as I search for misplaced kitchen tools. Rome wasn’t built in a day, you know.
This recipe is an ultra-fresh take on pasta primavera – a spring vegetable pasta dish. Rather than relying on heavy pasta for a spring recipe, I decided to lighten things up with a fresh carrot “pasta”, which is simply julienned carrots. Obviously, the carrot pasta tastes nothing like actual pasta, but I promise you won’t miss it one bit! You’ll be feeling light and energized after eating this rather than sleepy and sluggish. I plan on making a seasonal summer version and a fall version to follow so keep your eyes peeled for those recipes later this year.
So what’s in this delightful spring dish? As per my usual style, it’s loaded with fresh vegetables. Leek, garlic, asparagus, and peas are sautéed with some pink salt, pepper, and olive oil. Ignore the snap peas in the photo above, I opted not to include them in this dish (but feel free to improvise if you’d like). Then I whipped up an incredible batch of pesto – my nut-free Sun-dried Tomato Basil Hemp Pesto adapted from the pesto in my cookbook. Kale can be used instead of basil if you prefer. It’s packed with protein thanks to the hemp seeds and it’s completely nut- and dairy-free without giving up that creamy, luxurious texture that makes pesto so great.
Once the vegetables are tender, I stir in the pesto. This is when things go from good to mind-blowing; a simple spring veggie sauté is transformed into something decadent. It’s one of those I-can’t-stop-eating-this-straight-from-the-skillet dishes. Hold me back! If you can share, it’s the perfect amount for two veggie-loving people – decadent but light, simple to make, and packed with veggies. I swear I felt the baby bust out a flutter kick dance recital after I ate it.
Featuring all new, protein-packed salads, hearty toppers, flavour boosters, and dressings you'll want to drink, my new cookbook will transform the way you think about salads. Oh, and be sure to flip to the back for a surprise dessert chapter!
Glowing Green "Pasta" Primavera
Yield
2 servings
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
This is my take on a lightened-up version of pasta primavera - a spring vegetable pasta dish. Rather than using pasta, I opted for fresh carrot pasta which is simply carrots that are julienned into very thin strand-like noodles. This is the julienne peeler that I use. The vegetables are coated with a decadent, but nut- and diary-free sun-dried tomato hemp pesto and it transforms this dish into something decadent and special.
Ingredients
FOR THE PRIMAVERA:
- 2-3 large carrots, peeled and julienned
- 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil
- 1 leek, thinly sliced into rounds and rinsed off
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 bunch asparagus, ends broken off and chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 1 cup fresh or frozen peas.
SUN-DRIED TOMATO BASIL-HEMP PESTO:
- 1 small clove garlic
- 3/4 cup fresh basil leaves
- 1⁄4 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
- 1⁄4 cup hulled hemp seeds
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon water
- Scant 1/4 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt or pink Himalayan sea salt, or to taste
Directions
- With a julienne peeler, peel the carrots into thin, spaghetti-like strands. Cover with a damp tea towel or damp paper towel to avoid it drying out.
- Add oil to a large skillet or wok, and preheat over medium. Add sliced leek and garlic and saute for 3-4 minutes, until soft and translucent. Add a couple pinches of salt and several grounds of pepper.
- Add the asparagus to the skillet and saute for around 8 minutes more, until tender. Increase heat if necessary. Finally, stir in the peas and cook until heated throughout.
- Meanwhile, make the pesto. Add the garlic into a food processor and process until minced. Now add in the basil and sun-dried tomatoes and process again until smooth. Finally, add the rest of the ingredients and process again until combined and smooth.
- Stir all the pesto into the vegetable skillet mixture and cook until heated throughout. Season to taste.
- Serve the vegetable pesto mixture on top of the carrot pasta.
Tip:
Note: If you'd like to add more protein to this dish, I recommend French green lentils. Edamame would work nicely too.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Lastly, I’d like to pass on some new cookbook reviews and interviews from these lovely bloggers:
Kim @ Our Fresh Kitchen (interview)
Valerie @ Vbouv (multiple recipe reviews)
Melissa @ It’s Got Vegan In It (review)
Ari @ Abe’s Market (interview)
Bianca @ Vegan Crunk (review, recipe)
Lauren @ Lauren Lives Healthy (review)
Alex @ Vegetarian Snob (review, recipe, giveaway)
Jess @ The Wellness Warrior (interview)
Richa @ Vegan Richa (review, recipe)
If I missed any of your reviews please let me know and I’ll be sure to add them to my book page.
The combination of veggies + amazing pesto was killer in this recipe. I made it with regular pasta (brown rice spaghetti) instead of julienned carrots. If I made it again, I would add more pasta to make the veggies go farther.
I’m new to your Blog! I thought I would make Glowing Green “Pasta” tonight. I don’t have hemp seeds in my kitchen, but I do have hemp powder, flax powder and Chia seeds. Can I replace the hemp seeds with hemp powder; if so, how much? If not, what would you suggest I replace it with?
Went to Trader Joes, got everything I needed, just unpacked, the cashier gal accidentally forgot my hemp hearts :C :C :C can I sprinkle Flax Seed over top at the very end? The hemp hearts are there simply to add protein, correct?
I just made this! I used my spiral veggie cutter and made zucchini noodles. I added some salt and vegan butter to the noodles, and added a little rice vinegar to the pesto. Otherwise I followed it to the tee and loved it.
My husband and I made this, the vegan Caesar salad, and the chocolate pudding for our Valentine’s dinner and this was out absolute favorite! You showed us that it is possible to make dishes that are just as good, if not better that any restaurant! Thank you for making our day special and delicious! Would recommend this recipe to all!
I just made this recipe and it was so delicious. I sautéed one extra clove of garlic and this was just bursting with flavor. I also sautéed half of the carrots right at the very end to get them warm and married with the other flavors. I’m a college student, so trust me when I say this recipe is so quick and easy. (Secretly I wish it would’ve taken a bit longer to keep me from actually studying ;) kidding of course!)
I love it and I recommend you to try it!
Wow this was so delicious! I first made the recipe as is, except I didn’t have peas so I used some spinach instead, and I used some Pappardelle noodles (similar to fettuccine) instead of the carrots (still grated some carrots into it). It was SO GOOD!
I love this sundried tomato basil hemp pesto, it is so tasty you don’t even notice the cheese is missing. I made extra pesto and meant to save the rest to use on a sandwich with the buffalo hummus (for the “Ultimate 4-Layer Vegan Sandwich” http://ohsheglows.com/2013/09/04/ultimate-4-layer-vegan-sandwich/), but I devoured my pasta and leftovers, and made more pasta with the rest of the pesto.
The second time, I sauteed some asparagus, onions, red cabbage, corn, sundried tomatoes, spinach, and a little parsley, and threw that in with some bowtie pasta and the pesto. I’m tempted to make the pesto again right away, it was that good! Definitely would recommend making this.
Just made this for dinner and..
That. Pesto. Deserves. An. Award
DIVINE
The pesto was amazing!
First time cooking with leeks, and discovered my family does not like them LOL.
I might just use chopped regular onions next time but for me, this was amazing!
Sprinkled nutritional yeast as my “parmesan” and that was over the top good :)
It’s no exaggeration to say that this recipe (and blog) changed my life. I’d been slowly making the transition to eating plant-based whole foods but had no imagination and was struggling. Finding your blog in January this year really motivated and inspired me. This was the first recipe I tried because it looked fun and easy. Before that, like you and a lot of other people before we started eating this way, I hated cooking and was convinced I couldn’t cook. I ate convenience food and processed junk all the time and had a terrible relationship with food. Now I absolutely love cooking, and I think I make better food than anyone I know haha (I don’t tell them that of course)! I’ve also had an eating disorder most of my life too and, like you, i’ve found eating plant-based food makes me really happy and it’s changing my relationship with food completely. I see food for its nourishing and healing qualities now, rather than something to be demonised and either avoided or binged on. Eating this way has also helped me overcome depression and anxiety, which I let get the best of me for the past 10 years. I took myself off meds in jan this year and started eating plant-based whole foods, starting with this recipe, and I honestly think the food I eat is keeping those issues at bay. I just feel too good now! I adapted this recipe to suit me so I just throw a ton of dried basil in with the veg when I’m cooking it. (I don’t have a food processor yet so i found it hard to make the pesto, but it tastes great anyway!) Sometimes I’ll add extras like black olives, mushrooms, broccoli etc. I’ve basically eaten this meal in some variation for the past 2 months! So many recipes on here that I want to try though once I can afford the ingredients and equipment! Thank you so much for an amazing blog, for sharing your story, and helping me to change my life. Xx
I made just a few minor tweaks to this recipe (in order to use up ingredients already in my kitchen) and it was absolutely delicious! I substituted walnuts for hemp seeds and spaghetti squash for carrots. I used dry sundried tomatoes that I soaked in water for 10 minutes, so I added another tablespoon of olive oil to the pesto. When I make it again I’ll either make about 50% more pesto or use fewer veggies to intensify the incredible pesto flavor.
I LOVED this recipe. I added pan fried paneer for a bit of extra protein and served it on top of spaghetti squash. It was surprisingly easy and unsurprisingly delicious.
Thank you!
Hi Angela,
Just made this last night- the pesto was amazing. Even my partner who can be rather skeptical of vegan food was impressed (and finished the pan off when I wasn’t looking!). I added pasta and instead of using asparagus, used shallots and also added walnuts to the pesto. Delicious! Thanks for the great recipe. :)
Omg so much yum! I’m eating this as I type!
How much pesto does this make?
We just made this and are eating it now. It’s delicious! Used broccoli instead of asparagus since I don’t like asparagus, spiralized the carrots and the sundried tomatoes were not oil packed. The fresh basil and lemon make it quite flavorful.
I have been following your blog since January–thank you so much for your delicious recipes and sweet commentary! this is one of my favorites, I have made it as is and sometimes I will put it on top of spaghetti squash.
You are awesome!
Your site and recepies are amazing!Thank you very much for sharing them!You are an artist I believe! :)))
sorry *recipes :)
I made this tonight. (I served it with zucchini noodles). It was amazing! My very picky husband deemed it one for the favorites list! Thanks, Angela!!
Delicious! My husband and 2 year old daughter love this dish. I made it with edamame for the extra protein, and it was so filling, we could hardly finish it! I can’t wait for your new cookbook!