Balsamic Glazed Pasta Primavera

This dish brings back fond memories of the two months I managed to survive living in Brooklyn without a job or income!  During the summer of 2007, my friend Alex and I decided we were moving to New York City.  Luckily for him, he was able to transfer his job, but I was coming out of a contract at the college I was working at and was struggling with the NYC job market.  We decided to stick to our guns with the hope that I would find work when we got there.  No such luck!

Alex and I circa December 2006 at Elmira College's Relay For Life!

In need of cheap meals so we could spend our money on more important things (like bar hoping and Broadway shows hehe), I started to get a little creative in the kitchen.  There is nothing like a trip to a bodega or city grocery store to heighten one's creative and money saving senses!  Vegetables were beyond cheap, and a box of pasta cost pennies!  The apartment we were subletting came with a stocked kitchen that the owners told us was fair game while they were away.  Fortunately for Alex and me, they were both artistic, and that seemed to translate in their kitchen.  There were spices I had never even heard of before then, fresh garlic, wines, vinegars, and lots of basics like salt, flour, and pepper. 

So, unto us, Balsamic Glazed Pasta Primavera was born! I know this is a somewhat loose interpretation of primavera, especially since it is sans any cream or cheese.  It is, though, much lower in calories, and much cheaper to make!  Dairy products rack up some serious cash at the register!

Balsamic Glazed Pasta Primavera
Yields 6 servings


To Prepare the Primavera
1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place parchment paper on a baking sheet to cook your tomatoes.  You will see in the picture below why a little parchment will go a long way.  I used approximately 15 cherry tomatoes.  Cut them in half and spread them out on the cookie sheet.  Sprinkle them with some sea salt and put them in the oven to cook!

I was out of parchment - and am now out a baking sheet. Sigh.

3. Put on a pot of salt water to boil, which will later be used to cook the pasta.   I usually use a tablespoonish amount of salt. 
4. In a large saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over low heat.
5. While your oil is heating, start breaking spinach leaves off of their stems right at the base of the leaf.  You will need approximately 1 pound of spinach.  This will look like a lot when you get it at the store, but it will cook down quite a bit!
6. Add your spinach to the saute pan and stir it occasionally while it continues to cook. 
7. Cut approximately 1 pound of asparagus into 1 to 1 1/2 inch long pieces.  Be sure to not use the very base of the asparagus.  In most cases this will be trash, as it was exposed and has started to dry out a little during its trip to the grocery store and your fridge!
8. Add your asparagus to the saute pan. 

9. Roughly chop 4 cloves of garlic and add it to the mixture.
10. Throw your pasta into the boiling water!  I used 1 pound of whole wheat rotini. 
11. Add 1 jar of drained artichoke hearts to the saute pan and give it a good stir! 

12. In a small sauce pan, heat a 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar and 2 tablespoons of sugar over medium heat.  Be sure to stir this fairly often!
13. Continue to cook the vinegar and sugar until it seems like it is thickening just a bit.  When it reaches that stage, pour it into the saute pan with the veggies and stir.  Make sure everything gets coated well!

14. When your pasta is cooked, drain it and add it to the saute pan.

15. Pull your tomatoes out of the oven and add them directly to the saute pan, and stir everything together!