Creamy Spaghetti with Peas, Ham and some lovely herbs
I apologize for not posting lately. I just started this new job which I'm very excited about. Of course now that I'm working, I am finding it difficult to cook as much as I want to. I truly hope that it won't take me away from this space and I promise to make a better effort to just pop on and talk food with you!
I seem to be on this Italian kick lately especially since my Dad was in town this weekend. He lives for Italian food, the man loves his pasta and vino :). I wanted to cook something for him that I knew he couldn't make himself in Japan. I have made this dish several times, it's packed with so much flavor, it's truly magnificent! The lemon/herb combo is nice and the goat cheese adds a nice creaminess to the sauce. I'm sorry my photo turned out blurry on this one, I was of course multi-tasking when I took this shot and didn't double check it. Oh the challenge of entertaining, cooking and playing photographer at the same time!
CREAMY SPAGHETTI WITH PEAS & HAM
Serves 2- 3 people. Adapted from a Tyler Florence recipe.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 pound spaghetti
Extra-virgin olive oil
6 ounces of Black Forest Ham, diced (You can also use pancetta but I find it has a higher sodium content then ham)
1 onion, minced
1 bay leaf
1 cup sweet peas, frozen or fresh (if you are using frozen, you can defrost the peas by putting it into a bowl of water. then drain the water out)
1 ounce goat cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggino cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 1/2 Tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary (optional)
Juice of 1 lemon
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup fresh basil, hand-torn
DIRECTIONS
1. In a large stockpot, cook the spaghetti in plenty of boiling salted water for about 10 minutes. It should still be a little firm.
2. At the same time, heat a 2-count drizzle of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the ham, stir it around and brown it up a bit. After a couple minutes, add the onion and bay leaf. Cook and stir until the onion caramelizes, about 10 minutes. Now add the peas and cook for 2 minutes just to heat them through.
3. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the starchy water for the sauce. Fold the goat cheese into the hot pasta and give it a toss so it melts. Scrape the ham, onions and peas into the pasta pot (toss the bay leaf).
4. Add the Parmigiano, parsley, rosemary and lemon juice. Slowly pour in the reserved pasta water to dissolve the cheese and thin it out to a sauce consistency. Hit it with a healthy dose of olive oil and quite a few turns of freshly ground black pepper to give it a bite. Add the noodles back into the pot and gently toss to coat in the sauce. Split the pasta up and shower it with the beautiful shredded basil.
I seem to be on this Italian kick lately especially since my Dad was in town this weekend. He lives for Italian food, the man loves his pasta and vino :). I wanted to cook something for him that I knew he couldn't make himself in Japan. I have made this dish several times, it's packed with so much flavor, it's truly magnificent! The lemon/herb combo is nice and the goat cheese adds a nice creaminess to the sauce. I'm sorry my photo turned out blurry on this one, I was of course multi-tasking when I took this shot and didn't double check it. Oh the challenge of entertaining, cooking and playing photographer at the same time!
CREAMY SPAGHETTI WITH PEAS & HAM
Serves 2- 3 people. Adapted from a Tyler Florence recipe.
1/2 pound spaghetti
Extra-virgin olive oil
6 ounces of Black Forest Ham, diced (You can also use pancetta but I find it has a higher sodium content then ham)
1 onion, minced
1 bay leaf
1 cup sweet peas, frozen or fresh (if you are using frozen, you can defrost the peas by putting it into a bowl of water. then drain the water out)
1 ounce goat cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggino cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 1/2 Tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary (optional)
Juice of 1 lemon
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup fresh basil, hand-torn
DIRECTIONS
1. In a large stockpot, cook the spaghetti in plenty of boiling salted water for about 10 minutes. It should still be a little firm.
2. At the same time, heat a 2-count drizzle of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the ham, stir it around and brown it up a bit. After a couple minutes, add the onion and bay leaf. Cook and stir until the onion caramelizes, about 10 minutes. Now add the peas and cook for 2 minutes just to heat them through.
3. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the starchy water for the sauce. Fold the goat cheese into the hot pasta and give it a toss so it melts. Scrape the ham, onions and peas into the pasta pot (toss the bay leaf).
4. Add the Parmigiano, parsley, rosemary and lemon juice. Slowly pour in the reserved pasta water to dissolve the cheese and thin it out to a sauce consistency. Hit it with a healthy dose of olive oil and quite a few turns of freshly ground black pepper to give it a bite. Add the noodles back into the pot and gently toss to coat in the sauce. Split the pasta up and shower it with the beautiful shredded basil.
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