Monday, 1st June 2009

Pasta with Creamy Peas

This is a perfect late spring supper using ingredients that are bursting with seasonal flavour.  I prefer to use a shallot in this recipe as it has a mild and concentrated flavour and won’t overpower the other delicate vegetables, but of course a small onion could be used in  place of the shallot.

Serves 4

Ingredients

50g butter
1 shallot finely chopped
300g fresh peas (frozen are fine if you can’t get fresh)
1 little gem lettuce, shredded
salt and freshly ground black pepper
150ml single cream
400g penne pasta
75g Parmesan, freshly grated

Method

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta until tender.

While the pasta is cooking melt the butter in a large frying pan.  Add the shallots, peas and fry on a gentle heat until the vegetables are getting soft.  Add the lettuce and cook for a further 5 minutes until soft.  The vegetables may need a little water adding if it looks like they are drying out.  Season with salt and pepper.

Warm the cream gently, but do not boil.

Drain the pasta and return to the pan.  Stir through the cream, and mix in the vegetables.  Add half the Parmesan and give it another gentle stir.  Serve at once and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese.