Is pasta primavera poised for a comeback?

In the 1980s and 1990s, pasta primavera was on nearly every menu in the US. Although interpretations varied, the dish – which used the Italian word for springtime – usually featured an array of vegetables and long pasta in a creamy sauce. As with most things, once it became ubiquitous there was nowhere to go but down, so pasta primavera started disappearing from the scene as the next “it” dishes began their ascent. Although it can be difficult to find these days, The Washington Post’s G. Daniela Galarza thinks that it’s due for comeback. (gift link)

There are several stories about the origins of pasta primavera. It is most likely an American invention, and two chefs and an artist are all attributed as being its creator, depending on who you ask. We may never know who first came up with the idea, but Amanda Hesser notes that while this is ostensibly an Italian dish, there is plenty of French influence in it. As Galarza explains, the NY Times recipe calls for blanching each individual vegetable separately in salted water, “a decidedly French level of fussiness.”

The EYB Library contains 478 recipes for pasta primavera, with an even 100 of them available online. Interestingly, the recipe from Le Cirque – widely thought of as the place the dish originated – gets low marks from reviewers, with one saying “Don’t try this at home . . . Good heavens, this is such labour-intensive, multi-pot using dish I was simply too exhausted to review it afterwards!” The result was “mediocre, at best.” However, Giada DeLaurentiis’ Pasta primavera boasts a five-star rating (although there are no reviews). Although a majority of recipes use a long pasta shape as in the Spaghetti alla primavera pictured above from Saveur by Sirio Maccioni (one of those credited with inventing the dish), just about every pasta shape is represented in the recipes from farfalle to penne to the newest pasta shape, cascatelli.