Recipe: Pasta with Peas and Prosciutto

An easy summery pasta recipe, this time from Little Sister. (Guess we're on the same wavelength these days...) The day after she made this, she informed me that although it was great hot, she liked it just as much, if not more, cold the next day. Hmmm...

Summer has FINALLY hit NYC, and in full force. As I was walking through Central Park this past weekend, I too was hit full force -- with a craving for pasta with sweet peas. The Boyfriend was off playing computer games with an old friend from college for the evening (gee, too bad I had to miss that!) so I knew that I had the night to myself. I went to one of my most trusted pasta books, bought long ago when I was a budding home cook, called While the Pasta Cooks. The premise of the book, as the title suggests, is that each of the sauces can be made in the time it takes to cook the pasta. This is true if you don't count any of the prep time (which for some of the tomato-based sauces is considerable). That aside, they are all pretty easy to make and there is one for nearly every mood and season.

I opted for the pasta with peas and prosciutto, and then modified it a bit by using fat-free evaporated milk instead of cream to make it a tad healthier (after all, I'm heading to Hawaii with Mr. and Ms. Food Musings and the family in July, and it's not that far away...).

Pasta with Peas and Prosciutto
Yield: 2-3 heaping servings.

This recipe is adapted from While The Pasta Cooks. A dash of crushed red pepper counters the sweetness of the fat-free evaporated milk. If you use full-fat cream, you can opt to leave out the red pepper. It refrigerates well, and can be served cold for lunch the next day -- a great way to celebrate the coming of Summer!

8 oz. farfalle or other shaped pasta
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 small white onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
7 slices of prosciutto, chopped (about 4 oz.)
2 c. fresh, shelled peas or frozen sweet peas
2 tbsp fresh mint leaves, chopped
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
6 oz. fat free evaporated milk
pepper and salt to tast

1. As you are cooking the pasta according to package directions....
2. In a large sauce pan, heat oil and butter over medium heat until butter starts to melt, then add onion and garlic. Saute about five minutes until onions are translucent. Add chopped prosciutto and saute two minutes more.
3. Add peas, fresh mint, and crushed red pepper, then stir in evaporated milk slowly. (For a thicker sauce, use less milk.) I used about a half a can, and that was plenty. Let simmer until milk is heated.
4. Remove sauce from heat. Add drained, cooked pasta and salt and pepper to taste. Toss and serve.

Comments

[mom]

Sounds really tasty--plan to try it soon! This would be a great dish to take to a potluck, if taken cold.

[tara]

Hello! I see you've not posted in a while. Wanted to let you know that you are missed, and all the best to you - hope you're enjoying your summer.

[catherine]

Hi Tara, glad you stopped by! I think the site was screwed up the other day, but I've been posting throughout the summer. And very happy to see that your blog is back up as of last week!