Parmesan Spaghetti with Fresh Peas & Basil
by Apr 25th, 2011 // Dinner, Healthy, Recipes, Veggie Friendly
Parmesan Spaghetti with Fresh Peas & Basil
Those model hands you are looking at are Mr. CookingWithMyKid’s. No, he did not cook this dish. As I’ve mentioned in the past, he hasn’t the skills. (No matter how hard I try it’s not going to happen.) He does, however, have lovely hands and always well kept fingernails – perfect for modeling off this delicious spring pasta dinner.
As it turns out, fresh peas are as fun to shell as they are to eat. I gave my kid the how to and he began cracking them open at a rapid pace. After ten successful attempts not one pea had made it into the bowl. They were all down the hatch as fast as they were shelled.
It took a significant amount of convincing, but we were able to work out a plan of filling our bowl with the fruit of every other pea pod. I certainly didn’t want to discourage the new found love-affair my kid was having with his peas.
I have to admit, it took a lot of self control not to take down the entire bowl myself, but the thought of adding them to Parmesan spaghetti kept me at bay. What do you like to do with fresh peas?
Parmesan Spaghetti with Fresh Peas & Basil
Prep Time: 5 mins Cooking Time: 15 mins
Ingredients:
1 cup fresh shelled peas
1/2 pound spaghetti (we used multigrain)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
handful of torn basil
Parmesan cheese for serving
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook spaghetti for 6 minutes or until al dente.
2. Meanwhile, heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat.
3. Add garlic and saute for 2 minutes.
4. Pour in fresh peas and cook for 2 to 3 minutes – you want them to be warm but still crisp.
5. Transfer cooked pasta to skillet being sure that a bit of the cooking liquid gets into the pan.
6. Add Parmesan and salt and stir to warm through and combine flavors.
7. Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with basil.
8. Serve with Parmesan.
Makes: 4 servings.
this looks good!!
I am not a fan of eating peas straight from the garden but I plant lots more than we need each year because when my kids help harvest this is exactly what happens!
So easy and so tasty looking. I need to get some fresh peas, my kids will go wild over them!