Copycat Panera Pasta Primavera
Panera's Pasta Primavera had tender, ribbon-shaped noodles tossed with a blend of vegetables in a lemon garlic cream sauce on a bed of fresh spinach and topped with asiago-parmesan cheese and basil pesto. This copycat version is a perfect light lunch any day of the week!
Ingredients
- 1 LB mini lasagna noodles
- 1 head broccoli, trimmed to spears
- 1/2 bag frozen peas and carrots
- 5 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsp lemon juice juice from 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp coarse sea salt
- 2 cups raw spinach
- 6 oz basil pesto
- Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Boil water and cook pasta according to package directions.
- When you put the noodles in the water to boil - In a microwave safe bowl - add 1/4 cup water and broccoli. In a separate bowl, add peas & carrots. Cover both with press & seal wrap (or the like) and microwave for 4-5 minutes. Remove the broccoli and heat peas/carrots for 2 minutes more. Remove from microwave and set aside.
- Over medium heat in a saucepan, melt butter.
- Add minced garlic and sauté 1-2 minutes.
- Whisk in Dijon mustard and lemon juice.
- Add heavy cream and boil until reduced by one-third and remove from heat.
- When pasta is done, drain pasta.
- Toss pasta, salt, broccoli, peas and carrots in cream sauce.
- Assemble pasta primavera bowls by placing a handful of raw spinach in bottom of bowl.
- Top spinach with one cup of pasta mixture
- Spoon 1-2 Tablespoons pesto over pasta and top with parmesan cheese
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!