Robin Benzle food and travel

Fresh Peas and Pasta

As my father used to say, 'Eat your vegetables - you haven't had a good pea in a long time.' I always make this when fresh shelling peas are in season. To me, half the fun of this recipe is sitting on the back porch with a nice glass of wine and splitting the pods open and scraping those sweet peas in a bowl.

Ingredients

1 1/2 - 2 pounds fresh shelling peas in the pod
About 1 cup dry white vermouth (or other white wine)
1 pound pasta (any shape you like)
1/4 cup light or heavy cream
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

The Recipe

Shell peas. Discard pods, but not in the garbage disposal unless you want to spend the evening jamming a broom handle down the sink to try and unclog it. Put peas in a medium skillet, pour wine over, bring to boil, and simmer 10 minutes, or until tender (but not overly so).
Meanwhile, cook pasta.
Drain pasta and return to pot. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Add cooked peas (wine and all), cream and cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Toss quickly and serve immediately (it doesn't have to be served piping hot - actually just warm tastes better).
Notes: This is nice with a side of lemon-grilled chicken. Also, when our daughters were young, to encourage healthy eating I would serve peas-in-the-pod as a snack. They liked shelling them just like peanuts and counting how many were in each one.