the review: pasta with peas

No offense, Better Homes and Gardens, but what a completely lame name for a dish. Really? Pasta and Peas? I mean, I get it. That’s exactly what it is: pasta and peas. But the dish itself is way cooler than the name. I think of pasta and peas as a last ditch effort to get your kids to accidentally eat a vegetable by having a pea stuck to the inside of a noodle. Add parmesan and call it dinner. This dish is more than a last ditch effort. And it will also get your kids to eat peas. Lots of them. Let’s call it Dr. Seuss’s noodles on the loose since it is a fantastic bright green. Or, if you want to get fancy, how about ditalini with prosciutto and green pea pesto? I didn’t get the job naming crayons, but I’m working on it.

Let’s talk about cooking. I was a bit sideways all day on Wednesday. Couldn’t really follow directions, couldn’t seem to complete a task. This translated to my cooking as well. My changes to pasta and peas were all a result of oversights or lack of attention to detail rather than intentional changes. Fortunately, this recipe is easy and seems almost impossible to mess up.

Pasta and peas is essentially pasta with a green pea pesto that is made with peas, basil, shallot, and parmesan cheese. Nothing wrong with that. I didn't even defrost my peas. I just tossed them in the food processor and my assistant went to town with the pulse button. The noodles and pesto get tossed together with crispy prosciutto and the whole dish is held together with a bit of cream (I used whole milk – this was intentional and it worked great) and a bit of pasta water. I tossed my prosciutto right in with the rest instead of serving it on top. 

My kids each ate a pretty huge serving of pasta and peas. One even asked why we weren’t having vegetables with dinner. Ha! Tricked you again, you little munchkins! I’d say we will be repeating this meal, boring name or not. I'm changing the name though. For now, I'm sticking with Dr. Seuss’s noodles on the loose.