Ina Garten's Time-Saving Trick Changed How I Made Pasta

Most nights, I follow a simple formula for dinner. At minimum, we need to have a starch, vegetable, and protein to keep everybody happy and satisfied. If two of these can be combined into one dish, all the better (it's easier for me)!

Pasta is my daughters’ favorite carb by a mile, and it’s an ideal way to get vegetables involved. Whether it's the classic peas in the mac and cheese, some sneaky grated vegetables in the marinara, or a crown of broccoli or a bunch of kale blended into pesto, I’ve got plenty of tricks up my sleeve to make sure they eat a reasonably nutritious dinner.

My new favorite iteration of veggies plus pasta requires hardly any more effort than cooking the pasta itself. It comes thanks to Ina Garten’s Instagram video, where she adds sliced asparagus and garden peas to pasta carbonara for a lighter, seasonal take on the staple Italian dish. 

How Ina Garten Streamlines Her Veggie Pasta

I took away one very smart technique from Ina's recipe that I plan on using time and time again. The Instagram video shows the Barefoot Contessa cooking Spring Green Spaghetti Carbonara from her Modern Comfort Food cookbook.

After cutting the vegetables into bite-sized pieces, Ina adds them to the pasta water during the last few minutes of cooking. This way, the pasta is fully cooked, the vegetables are tender-crisp, and you only use one pot to get it all done. It's brilliant. 

How I'm Using Ina's Veggie Shortcut at Home

After picking up this hot tip from Ina, I recently added a few cups of chopped broccoli florets—my girls’ favorite vegetable—to a pot of boiling radiatore pasta about two minutes before the noodles were al dente.

I drained the pasta and broccoli together in a colander, returned them to the pot, and stirring in some butter, salt, and pepper. At the table, I served it up with Parmesan cheese and crushed red pepper flakes for everyone to add as they pleased. With some lemon pepper salmon served alongside, it was the easiest meal I’d made in a while. 

I’m already brainstorming the next combinations of pasta and vegetables I’ll be treating this way. Small diced carrots and ditalini would make for a satisfying combo—they're similar in shape and easy for kids to scoop up with a spoon. Bias-cut asparagus and penne would go together well, too, as they'd also be a similar size. Gemelli and green beans, rotini and sugar snap peas… it’ll be fun to see which ones become our family favorites.