I love to talk to people about food. It often tells you something about them that other chit-chat might not disclose. What people cook and how they eat is quite revealing. Then one day my friend Ali wanted to talk about cooking. Even though I have known Ali for years and years, this was surprising. Cooking is not her top topic. 

Ali likes to eat though, and is pretty game. One of her kinder moments was to both consume and exclaim enthusiastically about some chicken liver pâté that I had made that was not going over well at a dinner party. (Liver is still a hard sell, I guess... people wouldn’t even try it, despite Ali’s perkiness.) We’ve made dinner together tons of times (with Rachel too), but she’s not the one at the helm, just a willing, easygoing participant. So she has never been the cook in her household—her husband ably holds that title—but has recently committed to cooking once a week to give him a night off.

She said she follows recipes fine, but wants to learn how to put things together on her own more. And with two little kids and a long commute, she needs to have dinner ready soon after she gets home. Could I think of anything she could cook in under thirty minutes that would be somewhat kid-friendly, that wasn’t too complicated for a novice?

While these must be the most common cooking constraints of most women I know, I was a bit flummoxed. Cooking is more of a hobby for me, so I don’t mind spending some time making dinner—in fact, I look forward to spending that time every day. Also, since I work from home, I have the benefit of making the sort of meal that can be prepped while I'm on a call or can be stuck in the oven for hours. But certainly I could come up with something.  

To me, the most interesting part of Ali's conundrum was her wanting to learn how to put things together on her own. So I tried to create a flexible technique-recipe that could be easily mastered and easily changed up with what’s in the fridge, what’s in season, and what kids are willing to eat. I wanted to try not to use every pot and pan in the house, as clean-up takes time too, and who wants to do that post putting kids to bed? And I wanted it to be food that adults would like too.

The idea I came up with is a flexible spring veggie pasta dish. Simply, the technique is boiling veggies and pasta first to get them cooked evenly and quickly, then finishing it all in a pan with some sautéed aromatics to add flavor and a little texture. The result is endless variations of something tasty and easy, with constraints or not.

Tom and I recently ate something along these lines at a restaurant and salivated over it for days after: handmade ricotta gnudi with fava beans and pea shoots and green garlic. It was simple and delicious, and tasted absolutely like spring. But the idea of the dish could be translated to a super-quick version for home that would scratch the same itch. So quick and easy in fact, that it would fit Ali’s criteria too.

In Ali’s case, it can be made with storebought gnocchi, sugar snaps, and frozen peas. If you have more time, make ricotta gnudi and/or use some veggies that need more prep: fava beans are absurdly involved, but so tasty. (Just buy at least a pound or two, or you’ll wonder where all your work went.) If you want to see how far this technique will go, make the Korean-ish version with rice cakes, detailed below.

Here's hoping this gets a better response than the chicken liver pâté. If not, at least I know Ali will be nice about it, and probably like it too. 

A Technique-Recipe for Spring Veggie Dinner Variations:

Equipment: One pot, one pan, one spider (or slotted spoon), one wooden spoon, one big bowl.

1. Blanch bite-size veggies. Boil a pot of water and heavily salt it. Blanch the vegetables of your choice, one type at a time, until barely cooked (they’ll cook a bit more in the pan)--test them often so you don't overcook. Strain out with a slotted spoon or spider, rinse under cold tap water, drain again, and add to a big bowl.* Continue until all your veggies are done and in the bowl. Ingredient suggestions (single or a combination): asparagus (cut into bite size pieces), fresh peas, snap peas (halved), snow peas (halved), artichoke hearts, fava beans (removed from their pods, then blanched, then peeled). Frozen peas work great too—just add defrosted ones directly to the bowl, no need to blanch.
2. Sauté the aromatics. Cook some aromatics in some fat in a large pan over medium-low heat until tender. Ingredient suggestions: leeks, scallions, shallots, onions, spring onions, garlic shoots, garlic. For extra umph/protein, use a little pancetta, ham, or bacon. 
3. Add flavorful extras to the bowl. Add some flavorful things to the bowl with your almost cooked veggies. Ingredient suggestions: grated cheese, lemon zest, preserved lemon paste, ricotta, chopped soft herbs (parsley, basil, mint, dill, etc.), pesto, sundried/roasted tomatoes.
4. Boil the pasta. Add the pasta to boiling veggie water and cook until just done (gnocchi and gnudi are done when they float the surface; when in doubt, try them); using the spider, add the pasta directly to the pan with the aromatics. Ingredient suggestions: storebought/homemade gnocchi, fresh/frozen tortellini/ravioli, gnudi, even dried short pasta.
5. Pull it all together and re-season. Sauté the pasta in the pan for a minute (gnocchi, gnudi, and tortellini are good if allowed to get a little browned), then add the bowl of veggies and extras. Stir to combine, adding a little pasta cooking water,** until everything is combined and hot and the veggies are tender. Season to taste and serve. Ingredient suggestions: salt, pepper, more cheese, more zest, more herbs, a little lemon juice, red pepper flakes.

So that's the concept. Here is how it gets played out in a few different scenarios (veggie amounts are approximate, do to your taste): 

Weeknight- and kid-friendly variation: Sugar Snap Gnocchi

Defrost a small box of frozen peas and drain if necessary. Blanch 1/2 to 1 pound halved sugar snaps in boiling water for a couple of minutes (until bright green and still crisp) and add them to a large bowl with defrosted peas and a big handful of grated parm. Sauté a couple of chopped shallots and a few slices of chopped ham in butter until soft. Cook the gnocchi in the boiling sugar-snap water until they float. Using a spider, add the gnocchi to the shallots, letting them brown slightly. Add the bowl of veggies and cheese. Stir to combine, adding a little pasta cooking water and additional cheese if you like, until everything is combined and hot and the veggies are tender. Season to taste and serve.

More involved and fancy variation: Gnudi with Fava Beans, Asparagus, and Fresh Peas

Make ricotta gnudi (there are lots of recipes online) or homemade gnocchi. Remove 1 pound of fava beans from their pods and blanch; peel off outer skins and add the beans to a large bowl. Remove 1 pound of fresh peas from their pods and blanch; add to the bowl with favas. Blanch 1 pound of asparagus, cut into bite size pieces, and add to the bowl. Add grated parm, lemon zest, and chopped mint or basil to the bowl. Sauté chopped spring onions in butter. Cook gnudi in the boiling water until they float. Using a spider, add the gnudi to the spring onions, letting them brown slightly. Add the bowl of veggies and extras. Stir to combine, adding a little pasta cooking water and additional cheese if you like, until everything is combined and hot and the veggies are tender. Season to taste and serve.

Extra credit variation: Korean Rice Cakes with Asparagus and Sugar Snaps

Whisk together a sauce in the bottom of the large bowl: 1/4 cup gochujang, 1 T sesame oil, 2 to 3 T soy sauce, 1 T rice wine vinegar, 1 t sugar, pinch of salt, a sprinkle of sesame seeds, and thinly sliced scallions. Taste and adjust to your taste—it should be strongly flavored and balanced. Blanch 1/2 pound of halved sugar snaps and 1/2 pound of asparagus, cut into bite-size pieces, and add to the bowl with the sauce. Sauté sliced onions and garlic (and 1/4 pound thin slices of ribeye, if you like) in vegetable oil. Cook rice cakes in the boiling water until they float. Using a spider, add the rice cakes to the onions, letting them brown slightly. Add the bowl of veggies and sauce. Stir to combine, adding a little rice cake cooking water, until everything is combined and hot and the veggies are tender. Season to taste and serve.

* If you want, you could put them in an ice bath, but I often skip the trouble. A cold rinse is usually fine and less dishes. Just don’t put them straight in a small bowl as they’ll sit on top of each other and continue cooking.

** Pasta water is starchy, so will combine with the cheese and butter to make a sauce and help bind everything together.