Rice Cakes Primavera
A mandatory dinner to cook before spring bids us adieu!
Between my first studio shoot for Dinner Season, an 8-city book tour, and finishing the first draft of my manuscript, I blinked and spring turned to early summer. So my current mission—and yours should you choose it!—is to eat as many green things as possible before they disappear from the farmer’s market. An iconic springtime beloved, Pasta Primavera, is a great place to start.
Said to have originated in the 1970s by Sirio Maccioni at Le Cirque in New York City, this swirl-twirly, veggie-packed pasta gained popularity in home kitchens after Craig Claiborne and Pierre Franey published an adaptation of Sirio’s recipe in The New York Times. The original version relied on a mix of broccoli, mushrooms, asparagus, peas, and tomatoes, all cooked separately and then combined with spaghetti in a creamy butter sauce, but over the years this bowlful has become a catch-all for vegetables like carrots, bell peppers, and red onions.
My take nixes the clean-out-the-crisper vibes—sorry, don’t @ me!—and leans into the primavera of it all, using a combination of tender fava beans, green garlic, asparagus, snap peas, and freshly shelled English peas. Subbing in for the pasta are chubby, chewy Korean rice cakes, adding that addictive QQ texture. The sauce gets extra creaminess, savoriness, and a hit of zing from crème fraîche, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and lemon zest.
Want more spring-ified recipes before the season slips away? Try my Herby Salmon Platter with Lemon-Tarragon Dressing, Asparagus-Fennel Salad with Mortadella & Pistachio Dressing, Rhubarb-Cardamom Slab Galette, and Brothy Beans Primavera.
Rice Cakes Primavera
Fava beans and freshly shelled English peas add verdant luxury to this skillet, but for a quicker weeknight version, you can skip the favas and use frozen peas. And while I stand by spring veggies as the best choice for any variation of pasta primavera (primavera means spring after all!), these rice cakes transition well into summer produce. Try it with 1 green or yellow zucchini (halved and cut on the bias into ½-inch-thick pieces), the kernels from 1 ear of corn, and 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes along with some frozen peas. Keep your vegetable combinations to 3 to 4 picks so things don’t get muddled—and bell peppers are never invited because their flavor overtakes the whole dish.
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
1 pound (454g) fava beans in the pods, optional
1 pound (454g) Korean rice cakes (cylindrical)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 green garlic stalks, thinly sliced (about 100g)
1½ teaspoons Diamond Crystal or ¾ teaspoon Morton’s kosher salt
1⅓ cups (315ml) whole milk
2 teaspoons white or yellow miso
6 ounces (170g) asparagus, cut on the bias into 1-inch pieces
6 ounces (170g) snap peas, cut in half on the bias
½ cup (53g) shelled English peas or frozen peas
¼ (57g) cup crème fraîche
¼ cup (43g) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Zest of 1 lemon
Freshly ground black pepper, for finishing, optional
METHOD
To prepare the fava beans, if using, bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil over high heat and prepare an ice bath in a medium bowl. Shell 1 pound fava beans in the pods, discarding the outer pods. Add the shelled fava beans to the boiling water and blanch until they float to the surface and turn bright green, 1½ minutes for smaller beans and 3 minutes for bigger, late-season beans. Drain and transfer the blanched fava beans to the ice bath for 5 minutes, then peel and discard the outer casing, leaving the inner beans. Set aside.
While the fava beans are in the ice bath, place 1 pound cylindrical Korean rice cakes in a bowl, cover with cold water, and let soak for 10 minutes.
To make primavera, melt 3 tablespoons unsalted butter in a large skillet over medium heat. When the butter is starting to bubble, add 2 thinly sliced green garlic stalks and ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal or ¼ teaspoon Morton’s kosher salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the green garlic just starts to soften and turns bright green, 2 to 4 minutes.
Stir in 1⅓ cups whole milk, 2 teaspoons white or yellow miso, and ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal or ¼ teaspoon Morton’s kosher salt. Drain the rice cakes, add them to the skillet, stir to coat, and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce the heat to medium low, and cook, stirring occasionally so the rice cakes don’t stick to the pan, until the rice cakes just begin to soften, 3 to 6 minutes.
Add 6 ounces sliced asparagus, 6 ounces halved snap peas, ½ cup shelled English peas, and the remaining ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal or ¼ teaspoon Morton’s kosher salt and gently stir to combine (there should be a thick sauce pooling at the bottom of the skillet—if it is looking too dry, add 1 to 2 tablespoons water or more milk). Cover again and cook until the vegetables are tender-crisp and the rice cakes are cooked through, 4 to 7 minutes. Turn off the heat, add ¼ cup crème fraîche, ¼ cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, and the zest of 1 lemon, and gently stir to combine. Taste and season with more salt, if necessary.
To serve, transfer to a shallow serving bowl or serve directly out of the skillet, garnishing with the reserved blanched fava beans and freshly ground black pepper, if desired. Enjoy immediately!
Make-ahead: The vegetables can be mised out up to a few days in advance, but this dish is best made right before serving.
Substitutions: Green garlic out of season? Swap in 1 small thinly sliced leek, white and light green parts only, and 2 finely chopped garlic cloves, adding a couple minutes to the cooking time.