Hey guys this week I’m going Italian with this super easy Green Peas & Italian Prosciutto Pesto Pasta that’s light, delicious, healthy and super easy to make.
I love to make recipes that have contrasting flavours, and this Green Peas & Italian Prosciutto Pesto Pasta cannot be different. The contrast between the sweetness of the peas, the savoury of the prosciutto and the creaminess of the cheese are so delicious that is just impossible to only have one bowl!
This recipe is a take on the traditional Italian peas & ham, but boosted with extra yummy flavours to make it even more flavoursome and suitable to eat it with pasta.
PRINT THE RECIPE
This super easy Green Peas & Italian Prosciutto Pesto Pasta that's light, delicious, healthy and super easy to make. This recipe is a take on the traditional Italian peas & ham, but boosted with extra yummy flavours to make it even more flavoursome and suitable to eat it with pasta.
- 250 gr Frozen peas
- 3 slices Italian prosciutto
- 8 Baby Plum tomatoes
- 1 handful Basil leaves
- 1/2 White onion
- 2 Garlic cloves
- 1 handful Venezuelan sweet chillies or 1/2 diced red pepper or 2 red hot chillies.
- 150 gr Spaghetti
- Sat & black pepper to taste
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The first thing is to finely chop the onion, garlic, basil leaves and tomatoes and set aside
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Cut in thin slices the Italian prosciutto and set aside. I also like to remove the fat but this is not essential I just think it makes it slightly healthier. If you want to make the dish vegetarian or vegan just omit the prosciutto it will be equally delicious!
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Once all the chopping is done stir fry the prosciutto in a hot pan with a couple of tbsp of olive oil until is crispy and put on kitchen to absorb the extra oil
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In the same pan add the chopped onion and garlic and cook until the onion is starts to soften
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Then add the peas (leaving 3 tbsp aside for later) and a splash of water, leave to cook at a medium temperature. Then add the Venezuelan sweet chillies or red pepper or hot chillies, the basil leaves mix and continue to cook.
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Season with salt and black pepper to your taste and continue to cook at a low temperature. In the mean time cook the pasta following the package instructions.
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Reserve some of the pasta water in a cup and add half of it to the peas, mix and continue to cook for another 5 minutes.
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Using a handheld blender, blend the peas to a rough texture leaving some whole and add the remaining of the pasta water. Add the tomatoes and continue to cook.
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Once the pasta is cooked add it to the peas and mix. If the sauce is too thick add more pasta water. Mix and add the remaining 3 tbsp of peas, a handful of grated Mozzarella cheese and grated Parmigiano cheese
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Finish by sprinkling the crispy prosciutto on top and serve!
Recipe Video
MAKING PEAS & ITALIAN PROSCIUTTO PASTA VEGETARIAN OR VEGAN
This dish will be equally delicious whether you make it vegetarian or vegan, just omit the Italian prosciutto and substitute the cheeses for a vegan alternative.
As usual the brand I can recommend when it comes to vegan cheeses is VioLife, they have a “Parmesan” type of cheese and and grated Mozzarella type too.
I really like their cheeses and being lactose intolerant they are a life saver if I want to have cheese in any of my recipes!!
CHOOSING A GOOD OLIVE OIL
One of the things I wanted to highlight in this post that in fact applies to all my recipes is the use of the right olive oil for each cooking.
In this recipe I used 2 types of olive oils, standard olive oil for frying the prosciutto and extra virgin olive oil to drizzle just before serving. I never use my good extra virgin olive oil for cooking is simple not worth it!!
If you would like to learn more about how to choose good olive oil and how to use it I made a couple of videos that explained in detail 2 Steps How to Choose Good Olive Oil and What’s the Best Olive Oil for Cooking.
BARILLA’S GLUTEN FREE PASTA
Last week I made a video reviewing Barilla’s Gluten Free pasta that after 4 years has finally landed in the UK!! I cannot recommend this pasta enough, I fell in love with it 4 years ago when it first came out in Italy and been buying it in Italy ever since.
If you’re gluten free like me you’ll know how difficult is to find a good gluten free product, so if you haven’t seen the product review I made here’s the link, DEFINITELY go and check it out Barilla’s Gluten Free Pasta Review.
At the end of the video I talked about making my old time favourite Pasta Bolognese using this pasta, unfortunately that same day I filmed the video I fell ill with the nasty flu bug going around and it is today that I’ve been able to return to the kitchen. But I promise I will get round to making my take on Pasta Bolognese!!
Made this Green Peas & Italian Prosciutto Pesto Pasta? I love to hear what you thought, rate it and leave your comment! I really like to know what you guys think of the recipes and I can only do that if you leave your reviews and comments.
See you next time with another delicious recipe
HAPPY COOKING!! 🙂
