Pasta with Peas and Proscuitto

I saw some shelling peas this weekend at the local street farm market and had never worked with fresh peas before, so wanted to try something with them. I immediately thoguht of a pasta dish with a cream sauce that I had seen...somewhere...

Since I couldn't remember, I just went online and searched. One dish that caught my eye was Pasta with Peas and Proscuitto on the Martha Stewart site. It looked good and had everything I wanted, I just had to find some pasta to go with it. I have about 10 boxes/bags of pasta in the house, but none of them were fettuccine, so the pasta original to the recipe was out. I decided on the penne I had gotten from BJ's, which was a gigantic pack of farfalle and I think mezzo penne? I know it's smaller penne. It's pasta, works for me.




I started shelling the peas, and after a while found the quickest way to do it: pop the end of the pea open by squeezing it, run your thumb down the side to open, and run your finger down the inside of the pod to pop the peas out. Works for me, at least.



Mmm, fresh peas.




Pasta with Peas and Proscuitto
Martha Stewart ~ Everyday Food

Ingredients
Serves 4
Coarse salt and ground pepper
12 ounces fettuccine
1 tablespoon butter
1 shallot, finely chopped (1/4 cup) I omitted this, didn't have them at the farm market and didn't want to run to the store
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 package (10 ounces) frozen peas, thawed
8 slices prosciutto (about 4 ounces total), halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise, about 1 cup (a note in this recipe says it's easier to slice when chilled & rolled)
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving (optional)
Directions
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente, according to package instructions. Reserve 1 cup pasta water; drain pasta and return to pot.
Meanwhile, make sauce: In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat; add shallot and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add cream, peas, and prosciutto; bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Simmer until peas are heated through, 3 to 4 minutes.
Stir in lemon zest and juice. Pour sauce over pasta; add Parmesan, and season generously with salt and pepper. Add enough reserved pasta water to thin sauce as desired. Serve immediately; top with additional Parmesan, if desired.



This was fantastic. And so easy, it's almost a 30-minute meal. The Hubs loved it, but was half-asleep so I didn't get a whole lot of feedback other than "mmm" and an empty bowl in about five seconds.

Verdict: