Friday night dinner

This recipe has proved to be solid stand-by for us, it is completed in about 20 minutes and sounds good year-round. I really don't follow the recipe anymore, I just eyeball the sauce measurements. I make it richer or lighter depending on how I feel (and on how my pants fits)


Pasta with ham and peas
1 pound orecchiette pasta (I've used fresh pasta, one part spinach and one part garlic-herb)

• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small white onion, diced, (about 1/2 cup) (I would probably not quite this much)
• 1/2 cup frozen or shelled fresh peas (Important to keep them frozen until the very end)
• 2 tablespoon water
• 1 ham-steak, cut into a dice
• 3/4 cup heavy cream (sounds like a bit much to me)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I don't think it needs cheese)
• 1/4 cup white cooking wine or sherry
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 
  

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, add olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. When the oil is warm, add onion and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until translucent, stirring often.
3. Add the ham and cook until it starts to brown. Add the wine and scrape brown bits from the bottom of the pan; bring mixture to a low simmer and cook 3-4 minutes.
4. Turn the heat to low and add the cream a little at a time, let it warm through and thicken a bit, 3-4 minutes. Add the peas and stir. Add pasta to the sauce and coat. If you desire more sauce, add more cream. To lighten the recipe you can add a mixture of cream and pasta water - the starch in the pasta water will help thicken the mixture.


The frozen peas will that almost instantly when you add them to the pan, adding too early will over cook them and make them mushy. It is safe to add them as late as possible, the heat of the sauce and pasta will warm them through. 

Recipe adapted from Epicurious 

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone