Pasta Primavera

Method

1. boil9 min
   well-salted, 1 minute shy of the package
   pasta, with two cups of the cooking water saved before the drain — in the no-cream version that cloudy water is the sauce; forgetting it is forgetting the sauce at the store
2. saute5 min
   high, in waves, don't crowd
   broccoli first in half the oil, then zucchini + bell pepper, salted lightly as they go — each vegetable gets hot pan time instead of a communal steam; they should blister and stay bright, not slump
3. saute2 min
   medium, garlic then tomatoes
   + remaining oil + garlic until fragrant, then tomatoes + peas just until the tomatoes slacken and their juice starts to run — that juice is the acid half of the sauce
4. toss3 min
   medium-high, wet and violent
   pasta into the pan + butter + a cup of pasta water, tossed hard until the water, fat and cheese-to-come have somewhere to bind — the agitation emulsifies; a gentle stir leaves oil and water living apart
5. toss2 min
   off heat, cheese in stages
   + Parmesan a handful at a time with more pasta water as it tightens — cheese dumped at once on high heat clumps; fed in gradually off the flame it dissolves into gloss
6. top1 min
   basil + lemon zest + black pepper over the top — the zest is what makes the vegetables taste like spring instead of like a side of vegetables; that lift is the entire argument for the name