Ham Pasta Primavera

Call me a broken record, but one pan meals are key to homemade on a weeknight style cooking. You can develop so much flavor when you cook everything in a single pan. But you also get your three pillars of a complete meal into one dish- protein, vegetables and carbs. This Ham Pasta Primavera ticks all the boxes and is going to make for some really happy bellies.

Pasta Primavera basically means pasta and veggies in a cream sauce. The pasta can be any style of pasta, but for this one pot version, a short pasta is needed. This allows it to cook evenly. The vegetables are also pretty open to what’s seasonal. asparagus, leeks, and mushrooms are pretty common. You may also see sweet peas, corn, and/or carrots. You could definitely switch up vegetables from what I have listed just be mindful of cook time and knife cuts.

Speaking of swaps, if ham is not your thing, you can switch for some chicken. If you want to do this, I would suggest one of two routes. You can season with salt, pepper, garlic and thyme and roast the chicken in the oven. Or you can cube up the chicken, toss in the same seasoning mix and cook in the same pan you make the pasta and veggies in. Just make sure you cook it mostly through before removing to make the pasta.

For a one pan dinner recipe like this one you really need to have an extra large saute pan. This is pan that has a wide bottom (between 12 and 14inches) as well as a deep side (between 3 and 4 inches). You also want to be sure that it has a lid. Some companies call it an “Everything Pan” or “Everyday Pan” – to indicate that you can use it to cook, fry, bake, boil, steam, saute – pretty much do any thing with this one pan.

Now Let’s Get Cookin’!

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Ham Pasta Primavera

A fantastic one pot meal full of ham, leeks, mushrooms and asparagus in a simple creamy parmesan sauce.

Course Dinner, Main Course, one pot

Cuisine American

Keyword asparagus, Ham, leek, mushrooms, one pot, one pot meal, Pasta, pasta primavera, pasta recipes

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp Oil
• ½ Yellow Onion minced
• 1 tbsp Minced Garlic
• 2 cup Baby Bella Mushrooms sliced
• 2 tsp Salt divided
• 2 tsp Black Pepper divided
• 2 tsp Thyme divided
• 2 cups Leeks white & light green parts, halved and sliced
• 2 cups Asparagus ends trimmed, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 lb Ham Steak cubed
• 1 qt Broth chicken or vegetable
• 2 cup Milk
• 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
• 1½ lb Short pasta shells, elbows, rotini, etc.
• 1 cup Heavy Cream
• 1 cup Parmesan Cheese grated

Instructions

• In a large saute pan over medium high heat, add oil. Once hot, add onions and garlic. Saute for 3 minutes then add mushrooms, and one teaspoon each of salt, pepper and thyme. Saute another 5 minutes.
• Add leeks, asparagus and ham. Continue to saute another 5 minutes.
• Remove ham and vegetable mixture to a bowl.
• Add broth, milk, lemon juice, remaining salt, pepper, and thyme. Bring to a boil and add pasta. Then reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
• Return ham and vegetable mixture along to pan and stir to combine. Recover and cook another 15 minutes.
• Remove lid and stir in heavy cream and parmesan cheese. Cook another 5 minutes then remove from heat. Let sit about 5 minutes to thicken before serving.