Creamy Pasta with Peas and Ham

This incredibly delicious pasta with peas and ham is a one-dish dinner,  fast and easy to make!

This morning, like every Wednesday, I had a great time playing beach volleyball with a bunch of my friends. I can now say that we are unstoppable! We played even in this excruciating heat...well, maybe this is a bit of an exaggeration. It was probably just 85 degrees at 9:00 am. But here in coastal Southern California, we are quite spoiled, and as soon as the temperature goes above 80 degrees, it seems painfully hot. I personally don't mind the heat, especially knowing that after an hour of playing in the burning sand, I could quickly cool off in the fresh ocean water.
Simply perfect and an amazing way to start my day!
Tonight, I didn't feel like spending too much time around the stove. So, here is the recipe for my creamy pasta with peas and ham: a one-dish dinner quick, easy and super delicious!

Ingredients: serving 4

• 1.5 cup of frozen peas
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 4 oz of smoked ham steak, cut in cubes
• 3/4 cup of heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons of parmesan cheese
• 12 oz of pasta

Preparation time: 25 minutes

Directions:
Step 1: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In a medium sauce pan, saute' the crushed garlic clove with the olive oil for one minute.

Step 2: Add the frozen peas, heavy cream and ham cut in cubes. Simmer over medium heat until the peas are fully cooked. Salt to taste. Not too much salt is needed given that the ham is salted and the Parmesan cheese will be added at the end.

Step 3: In the meantime, cook the pasta as directed on the box. By the time the pasta is cooked, the sauce will be ready. Drain the pasta and add to the sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve immediately

Buon Appetito!

Rigatoni with Sausage and Peas in Creamy Tomato Sauce

Rich and creamy pasta, with savory sausages and sweet peas. 

Great all-in-one dinner, ready in less than 30 minutes!

Last week I went to dinner to one of my favorite Italian restaurant in Santa Monica, Hostaria del Piccolo. As I've said before, the food here is amazing ... and this is saying a lot, coming from someone who can be quite picky about Italian food! This place is not crazy expensive, as many fancy Italian restaurants around here, and the kids are always welcomed.  My boys really love it too!
One of the dishes that we ordered to share was rigatoni with sausage, peas and creamy tomato sauce. It was absolutely delicious. While eating this pasta, I was trying to savor every bite, to figure out what ingredients were in the sauce.
So, this is what I made last night... and, I have to be honest, it turned out really yummy and quite similar to the original! So from now on, this pasta will definitely be part of the regular menu in my house.

Ingredients: serving 4 people                             Printable Recipe

• half onion, chopped
• 8 oz of ground sausage
• 1.5 cups of crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup of (frozen) peas
• 1/3 cup of heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• salt to taste
• 2 tablespoon of Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
• 12 oz of rigatoni pasta

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Directions:
Step 1: Saute' the chopped onion in a large skillet with the olive oil, over medium-high heat for a few minutes.

Step 2: Add the sausages and break it into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, until mostly browned.

Step 3: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. And then cook the pasta as directed on the box.

Step 4: In the meantime, add the crushed tomatoes and the peas to the skillet with the sausage. Salt to taste. Careful that the sausage will be salty already. Simmer over medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes

Step 5: Stir in the heavy cream and cook for a couple of minutes or until the pasta is ready.

Step 6: Drain the pasta, and toss in the skillet with the sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

Buon Appetito!

Penne Pasta with Peas, Peppers and Pancetta

You will be surprised by how easy, quick and delicious is this pasta with peas, peppers and pancetta!

Let's start the week with a super easy, extremely fast, really delicious, one-dish meal recipe, to make your Monday dinner a breeze.
I call this pasta "the Four Ps ",  because of its four simple ingredients: piselli (peas), pancetta (or bacon), peperoni (peppers) and pomodori ... well, that's tomatoes. I guess the name doesn't quite work in English :-(
To prepare this sauce all you need is to place the ingredients in a pan and let them cook for 20 minutes or so. Yes, it's that easy. Check out the recipe!

Ingredients:       Printable Recipe

• 1 cup of green peas
• half red pepper, cut in small cubes
• 2 slices of pancetta or bacon, cut in small cubes
• 12 oz of crushed tomatoes (I used organic canned tomatoes)
• 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese, freshly grated (optional)
• salt to taste
• 12 oz of penne pasta, or other short pasta

Preparation time: 25 minutes

Directions:

Step 1: Place all the ingredients for the sauce (olive oil, peas, pancetta, peppers, tomatoes and salt to taste) in a medium pan, over medium-high heat for a couple of minutes. As soon as it start boiling, cover the pan and simmer for about 20 minutes over medium flame. Stir occasionally. Check the sauce and uncover the pan for the last 5 minutes if you need to make it a little denser.

Step 2: While the sauce is cooking, bring to boil a large pot of salted water. Cook the penne. Drain the pasta when ready. Place in saucepan and mix well. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if you like.

And voila'! Dinner is ready!