Spring has arrived in Florida. It is nice to be able to walk out the door in sandles and summer clothes. The birds are singing and soon the manatees will be returning to the canals in our area with their pups. Last year I was down on our dock when a huge manatee appeared. I had heard that they like to drink fresh water, so I turned on the hose. Slowly he made his way over to me and lifted his huge head up out of the water and drank his fill. He then turned over on his back and let me spray his belly with the fresh water. I was in awe of this beautiful creature.
A friend and I went to the Farmer’s Market on Friday and loaded up on fresh produce. The Florida strawberries were beautiful and the asparagus was refreshingly crisp and green. I had leftover red pepper pesto from my last post so I incorporated it into a spring pasta dish full of fresh vegetables and chicken. I highly recommend this pesto. It was great on the appetizer, wonderful added to a pizza and now in this pasta dish.
We are returning to Lake Lure March 31st. Friends have told us that the weather has been lovely there, so I am looking forward to the soft greens of the budding trees and the pinks and whites of the dogwoods in bloom. All of us have endured a long winter. It is good to anticipate the spring season.
RED PEPPER PESTO PASTA PRIMAVERA
2 boneless chicken breast, cut into small pieces
1 pound asparagus spears, trimmed, cut into thirds, blanched and put into ice water to set color and stop the cooking
1 red pepper, cut into thin strips
1/2 green pepper, cut into thin strips
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
2 carrots, cut into thin strips
1 cup red pepper pesto (see previous post)
12 ounces tri-colored linguini
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
In a large skillet, brown chicken in olive oil until no longer pink. Remove from pan. Add more olive oil if necessary and saute, red and green pepper, onion, and carrots until crisp tender. Return chicken and asparagus to skillet. Add red pepper pesto and a little water. Stir to combine ingredients.
Cook pasta according to package directions. When done scoop out some of the pasta water. Drain pasta and add to skillet with chicken and vegetables. Add some of the pasta water if it is too dry. Toss to combine. Season to taste and serve.
WOW! An easy recipe and looks delicious.
Looks delicious! I hope the rain will clear and you’ll have some nice warm weather for your last week in Florida.
The perfect dish to celebrate Spring!
I had no idea that you couldn’t wear sandals in Florida all year long.
And now I want a manatee! They sound so cool.
Better check the weather before you come home. NE GA Expects SNOW tonight. Just rain in the big city; some wind and pea sized hail. But, the Bradford pears are in bloom; Spring is almost here.
I have never tried red pepper pesto, but it sounds good. I bought basil and garlic pasta at Trader Joe’s today; might be good together.
This looks fantastic…can’t wait for our snow to be gone and out farmers market to open.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
I love pesto, I’ll bet it’s wonderful in this pasta!
this pasta is a great way to celebrate the coming of spring… love pesto and love the inclusion of asparagus
OH wow – I am so excited to try this!! I need to go find your post on the red pepper pesto…and the beauty of tri colored linguini? Oh my! I would also love to try this with our family’s favorite pasta that is made with Kamut Khorasan Wheat. It just has such great texture. Okay now I have to say how incredibly amazing on the Manatee!!! Awwww….that would be a beautiful site to see 🙂
Fabulous dish! Looks just beautiful. I’ve never seen a manatee and would have loved to have been standing right next to you during that experience.
This looks delicious. I spent most of my life in south Florida, and the local strawberries were the best I’ve ever had.
looks great! I am starting a new series on what to do with a rotisserie chicken since they are so cheap here…
And happy you are going back to your lake house… you seem to fit there
This looks absolutely delicious!
The dish looks fabulous… and I love spring too… I will be heading north in two weeks too… but mine is only a visit… a long overdue one… enjoy spring in Lake Lure
What a fun experience with the manatee Penny. I am looking forward to spring in the mountains also. Your pasta primavera looks fabulous. It seems primavera always spells spring to me. Enjoy Lake Lure.
Sam
What a wonderful pasta dish – I love this! Such fun with the manatee – I’d love to do that.
An appropriate dish for Spring! That is something about the manatee coming so close. I keep telling my hubby we have to move to FL, I can’t stand the VA winters anymore!
This dish says spring! It sounds wonderful, Penny. I love pasta!
Last year our flowering trees put on such a spectacular spring show, I can’t wait to see what they will do this year. Asparagus epitomizes spring to me too, and I can’t get enough of it. I’m always looking for new ways to prepare it. Thanks for the recipe!
So bountiful with color and goodness and with pasta to hold it all. YUMMMMM