Creamy Pasta with Peas and Prosciutto
A Springtime recipe for when you don’t know what to cook (+ the most important pasta technique you need to know)
My go-to lunch or dinner when I am hungry and I don’t fancy cooking it’s always pasta. Some kind of pasta dish that will fill me up, comfort me and will be super easy and quick to make.
The most basic of the pasta dishes is “pasta in bianco”. I learned this while living in Italy. For 6 months I worked as an au pair for a family in a small town close to Milano. Sometimes I would stay at home with one or more of the three daughters and I had to take care of them (which in Italy, Spain and any other country that lives to eat means feeding them). I remember one time one of the girls was not feeling well and I got nervous. My grandma used to make me a rice porridge with fish when I had an upset stomach, and I really didn’t feel up for the task at that time… Margherita, 11 years old, comforted me. She said: “you only have to make pasta in bianco!”. White pasta. It’s not even a recipe as it only consists of three ingredients: boiled pasta, olive oil and shaved parmigiano on top. Eccolo!
I make pasta in bianco often, but I add freshly ground pepper on top. The recipe I bring today is a twist to that one, but almost as easy and fast to make. It’s also possible you have all the ingredients already in your fridge, freezer and pantry!
Before you start, there’s something you need to know first if you don’t already: whenever you make pasta, fill up a pot with enough water and salt it properly! Listen up, because this is very important and will be a game-changer. Forget the “pinch of salt”. When you boil ingredients in liquid you are going to discard later, you need to salt it abundantly. “As salty as the sea”. Yes, seriously. The pasta will be seasoned from within and you won’t need to add any more of it at any other time of the preparation. Specially with this one that already has the prosciutto and the parmigiano!
You can see the video I made of the recipe below.
Some tips
For the kind of pasta, it’s better something not too small that has areas to hold ingredients up. For example, spaghetti would be fine but the thin lines won’t pick up the pieces of ham and peas when you roll them to your mouth. It’s better a tube-like form like penne, spiral form like fusilli or this one I chose which is very season-appropriate: farfalle (“butterflies”).
Of course, if you can get fresh peas the dish is going to taste much better, but this recipe is not for fancy times but to eat something nutritious that you can make in less than 15 minutes. That’s why I always have a bag of frozen peas in my fridge!
You can skip the prosciutto if you want to make it vegetarian. It adds a savoury and salty touch, but without it will still be tasty. You can also substitute it for bacon if you prefer.
For the cream cheese, I used a lactose-free version, but you don’t need to. Something like Philadelphia would be best, but again, if you want to impress: you could do mascarpone or even ricotta!
When I make this, I never mesure the quantities, so feel free to adapt it. It’s always best to add more than to be short, though!
Ingredients
7 oz (200 g) Farfalle pasta
5 tbsp cream cheese
4 layers of prosciutto, chopped in small squares
1 1/2 cup frozen peas
Shaved or grated Parmigiano Reggiano, to taste
Freshly ground black peppercorns, to taste
Salt, enough to cook the pasta and the peas
Instructions
Cooking time: 10-15 minutes
Servings: 2
Bring a large pot filled with water to a rolling boil. Season generously with salt until it tastes like the sea. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Reserve some pasta water for later.
While the pasta cooks, add the chopped prosciutto in a pan and cook slightly until it changes color a bit and smells fragrant. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Fill a small pot with water and bring to a boil. Add salt and the frozen peas. Cook until tender. Drain and set aside.
Take the pan where you have cooked the prosciutto and add some of the reserved pasta water to deglaze it (so all the brown bits from the ham fall into the liquid). Add the cream cheese and combine. Add more water until you get a silky consistency.
When the pasta is al dente, drain it and add it in the pan. Bring the rest of ingredients in (peas and prosciutto) and grind some black pepper on top. Combine well.
Remove from the heat and plate.
Serve with shaved or grated parmigiano.
Que linda receta. Tengo hambre!
How much salt do you recomend for every lt of water?