pasta and peas, pretty please

Ahh yes! Spring is here. Time to shift the comfort foods of winter to the back burner as we start dreaming up pasta recipes using asparagus and artichokes, fava beans and fiddleheads, garlic scapes, leeks, nettles, mint, morels and of course…..peas.

Pasta with Ham and Peas

Serves 4-6

12 oz. bag of al dente® pasta

1 Tbsp. butter

1 cup of either cream, evaporated low-fat milk or half and half

10 oz. of freshly shelled peas or frozen peas

8 oz. thickly sliced ham, or smoked turkey, cut into cubes

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1.Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add ham or turkey stirring until heated. Add half and half and simmer gently.

2. In the meantime, put pasta in boiling, salted water. Add the peas to cook along with pasta. When pasta is cooked and “al dente”,  drain.  Over medium heat, toss pasta and peas with ham mixture and Parmesan until thickened. Season with salt and pepper.

The gorgeous photos were taken by Josh Chamberlain, an amazing young man attending Washtenaw Community College and son of the equally amazing woman who is the founder of FLY.  Certainly two of my favorite people and favorite organizations.

Any other quick and easy pasta and peas recipes out there? How about sharing here or on the Al Dente Pasta Facebook Page! Here’s a variation on my theme from The Bitten Word, a blog that I think is cool. Even though their recipe calls for 18 oz. of Angel Hair, it would work great with 12 oz. of any Al Dente Pastas–Linguine, Fettuccine or Pappardelle.

 

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