Pasta e piselli
“Use fresh homemade pasta cut into wide strips, or broken-up sheets of dried lasagne, and serve with all the soupy juices.”
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, finely sliced into rings
- 4 slices prosciutto or pancetta, cut into strips
- 400g peas, fresh or frozen
- 1 litre chicken stock, heated
- 200g instant lasagne sheets, broken into pieces
- handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped
- sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp butter
- fresh parmigiano, to serve
People have liked the idea of peas and ham or bacon for hundreds of years. Of course they have. It's delicious. It's also a clever use of a seasonally generous vegetable. It uses the more expensive preserved meat as a seasoning, rather than as a main ingredient.
When pasta - cheap and popular - is added to stretch it further, there is plenty of flavour and broth for it to absorb. It's close to a perfect dish. Use fresh homemade pasta cut into wide strips, or broken-up sheets of dried lasagne, and serve with all the soupy juices.
Method
Heat the olive oil, and fry the onion until soft but not browned. Add the prosciutto and peas and toss well.
Pour the hot chicken stock over and cook for 10 minutes, or until the peas are tender.
Cook the pasta in plenty of simmering, salted water until just tender. Drain and add the pasta to the broth.
Add basil, salt and pepper to taste, and cook for 5 minutes or so, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is soft.
Serve with a fork and spoon, adding a little butter to each dish for a touch of richness. It should be almost, but not quite, soupy.
To serve
Serve with the parmigiano for grating.
Serves 4
