Summer Vegetable Pasta

Summer’s here and I’m so happy! I love the long nights and the bright days. It can get a little hot down here in Florida, but I try not to complain too much.

Here’s another recipe for Land O’Lakes Kitchen Conversations. We’re making summery recipes that highlight the simple goodness of fresh, seasonal ingredients. It’s the perfect time of year to start using ingredients from your garden, local farmer’s market or grocery store. Cooking your favorite seasonal veggies (squash, tomatoes, asparagus!!!) with Land O Lakes® Butter takes those fresh summer flavors to a whole other level.

I’m making a summery vegetable pasta. What’s awesome about this recipe? It’s super easy and you can use whatever vegetables you want in your dish. Just make sure you have Butter with Olive Oil & Sea Salt Half Sticks, white wine and a fresh lemon on hand.

It’s basically summer in a bowl—it’s flavorful with the butter sauce, but light enough for a summer lunch or dinner. And even better, it takes only 30 minutes to put together!

Bring a big pot of water (with salt) to a boil, cook pasta to according to package directions and start prepping your veggies.

Besides lemons, nothing else says summer like fresh tomatoes. Dice them up, and use them to top your pasta.

Get all of your ingredients prepped and ready.

Melt the Land O Lakes® Butter with Olive Oil & Sea Salt in a pan on medium heat. It comes already portioned in a half stick size, so you can just throw one in the pan and it’s ready to go!

Cook the squash and asparagus for 3 to 4 minutes in the butter.

Add spinach, cook for almost 2 minutes - the spinach won’t be wilted all the way. Add white wine and cook for a bit. Squeeze in the lemon and add the cooked pasta and mix.

You can use whatever pasta shape you want, including angel hair or spaghetti! Sub your favorite vegetables (or whatever you can find fresh), and you have this easy-peasy pasta dish that has a wonderful flavor from the Butter with Olive Oil & Sea Salt, the white wine and a hint of lemon!

Summer Vegetable Pasta Recipe

Yield: Serves 4 to 6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
· 1 pound pasta (select your noodle of choice)
· 1 Half Stick (1/4 cup) Land O Lakes^® Butter with Olive Oil & Sea Salt
· 1/2 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into quarters
· 2 yellow squash, chopped
· 2 cups packed fresh spinach, rinsed
· 1/2 cup white wine
· 1/2 lemon
· 1 tomato, diced
· Grated Parmesan cheese
· Italian parsley, chopped

Directions:

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Prep the vegetables. Make the pasta and drain it while cooking the rest of the dish.

In a stainless steel pan, add Butter with Olive Oil & Sea Salt. Melt on medium heat. Add asparagus and squash and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Season with pepper. Add spinach and cook for 90 seconds, until partially wilted. Add the white wine, increase heat to medium high and allow to cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off heat and remove pan from heat. Squeeze the half lemon and mix. Add pasta and mix thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve on plates topped with chopped tomatoes, Parmesan cheese and parsley.

Disclosure: The Little Kitchen has partnered with Land O’Lakes for an exclusive endorsement of Land O Lakes^® Butter for their Kitchen Conversation blogger program. This blog post is sponsored by Land O’Lakes.