Not only are peas sweet and delicious, but they come packed with antioxidants and nutrients that make them the perfect feature to this comfort food classic, Pasta e Piselli. This super easy dish features regularly on Nonna’s menu, along with other comfort food classics like pasta e broccoli, pasta e fagioli and pasta e chicci. These dishes are perfect examples of la cucina povera – the kitchen of the poor, peasant cooking, in essence.
Nonna starts with extra virgin olive oil (about 3 tablespoons) and she sautees half a diced onion for a few minutes. She then adds 700 grams of frozen peas and stirs until the onions blend in with the peas. She adds some water and lets them simmer for at least half an hour until the peas are tender. As Nonna explains, some people like to add pancetta as you sautee the onions, but Nonna prefers to keep this dish simple and vegetarian.
Separately Nonna cooks up 300 grams of Ditali pasta. You can use any kind of small pasta that you like – small shells, tubetti, whatever you like. Some people cook their pasta directly with their peas however Nonna finds that the excess starch in the pasta water too much and prefers to cook them separately, adding about a cup of pasta water once the pasta is added.
You can make this dish as ‘dry’ or as brothy as you like – so how much you add is a matter of personal taste.
The same can be said for the grated pecorino cheese. Nonna adds half a cup as a final step and then sprinkles more on her individual serving … but that is entirely up to your personal taste. Similarly, a small drizzle of extra virgin olive oil is delicious and is certainly recommended.
Buon appetito!