Pasta with peas is a spring classic! Here I’ve changed the ratio and put the emphasis on the veggies, so the dish is incredibly satisfying, with just a little more green 😉
The sauce is a clever combo of garlic and shallots with pasta water (!!!), which makes a silky, rich, and delicious coating for the peas and pasta. I used cavatelli here, which are cute little hotdog bun-shaped shells perfect for housing peas and holding on to the delicate sauce. Use up your hemp parm in this recipe, both in the sauce and on top. If you don’t have any hemp parm or prefer real parmesan cheese, please use instead!
Peas with Pasta
Ingredients
- 200 g cavatelli pasta gluten-free, if desired, rotini or farfalle would work here too!
- plenty of salt for pasta water
- olive oil for garnish
- 2 Tbsp. butter ghee or expeller-pressed coconut oil (flavour neutral)
- 2 shallots finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- zest of 1 lemon organic, if possible
- ¼ cup hemp parmesan plus more for garnish
- 500 g green peas fresh, or thawed if frozen
- freshly cracked black pepper
- Peas shoots or young tendrils for garnish
Directions
- Bring well-salted filtered water to a boil. Add the pasta. Cook until just until al dente as per directed. Remove 1 cup / 250ml of pasta water from the pot and reserve. Drain pasta, discarding the rest of the water. Drizzle the cook pasta with a little olive oil, stir, and set aside.
- While the past is cooking, heat a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter or coconut oil, add shallots and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and lemon zest, cook for another 2 minutes until fragrant. Add pasta water, bring to a simmer, and reduce by about half, until the texture is light and creamy, not too watery! Stir in the hemp parmesan (or same amount of real parmesan) and peas. Simmer until the peas are tender and sweet, about 2 minutes!
- Add the pasta, fold to combine, and enjoy with more olive oil, and freshly cracked black pepper, plus tons more hemp parm. Say thank you and tuck in!
