Creamy Lemon Primavera with Ham

vegetable primavera on a plate with a glass of white wine.

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4.70 from 10 votes

Creamy Lemon Primavera with Ham

This creamy primavera has a touch of lemon zest mixed into the sauce for a bright, spring flavor.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword asparagus, cream sauce, ham, pasta

Dietary Restrictions Egg Free

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 20

Total Time 45

Servings

Calories 588.26kcal

Author Lisa Lotts

Equipment

1 large skillet 10-12' with 2-3" sides
Kitchen spider useful for draining and transferring pasta and asparagus

Ingredients

½ pound asparagus trimmed, cut into one inch pieces
1½ teaspoon kosher salt for the pasta water and seasoning
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces button mushrooms wiped clean, sliced into bite size pieces
1 medium yellow onion diced
½ pound shell pasta cooked to al dente
1 cup ham diced
½ cup sun dried tomatoes diced, drained if oil-packed, reconstituted and drained if dried,
1 cup parmesan cheese grated
1 tablespoon fresh basil chopped, optional
2 tablespoons fresh italian parsley chopped, optional
2 tablespoons butter
1½ tablespoons flour
1½ cups homemade vegetable broth or chicken broth
¼ cup half-and-half
¼ teaspoon black pepper freshly ground is best
1 lemon zested

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Fill a large saucepan with water. Add ½ pound asparaguscook for 3-4 minutes until crisp-tender. While it's blanching, fill a medium-sized bowl with ice and water. With a slotted spoon or spider, transfer blanched asparagus to the ice bath and plunge it into the ice water to stop the cooking.
Fill a 3-quart saucepan with water and 1 teaspoon salt. Heat to boiling. Add ½ pound shell pasta. Cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente (according to package directions).
Meanwhile, in a large 10-12" skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add 8 ounces button mushrooms and cook until they give up their liquid and are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer mushrooms to a bowl. Liquid will collect from the mushrooms as it sits. Be sure to drain it off before adding mushrooms to the final dish.
Add 2 tablespoons butter and 1 medium yellow onion to the pan and saute until the onion is softened and slightly translucent, but do not brown.
Stir in 1½ tablespoons flours until everything is well combined and no dry bits of flour remain. Cook and stir for one minute until bubbly.
Add 1½ cups homemade vegetable broth a little at a time to the flour mixture, stirring and scraping the pan constantly. Cook until the mixture begins to thicken and takes on the consistency of a sauce. Stir in ¼ cup half-and-half and 1 lemon, zested. Season with ½ teaspoon of kosher salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Remove from heat.
Drain the asparagus and pat dry with paper towels.
Add the cooked pasta and 1 cup parmesan cheese to the sauce mixture and toss well to combine. Stir in the blanched asparagus, mushrooms, ½ cup sun dried tomatoes, and 1 cup ham to the pasta and heat through over medium heat. Stir in the 1 tablespoon fresh basil and 2 tablespoons fresh italian parsley just before serving, if using.
Use remaining parmesan as a garnish, served on the side.

Nutrition