Last Sunday, my boyfriend ran in the ODDyssey Half Marathon. So the Friday before, I wanted to make a pasta dish for him to “carb load,” but I didn’t want to give him our normal protein-heavy meat sauce.
This recipe from Food Network was a perfect choice! It uses fresh veggies and herbs to deliver the flavor instead of meat and tomatoes.
Ingredients:
- Kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 bunch scallions, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 cup of chopped scallions)
- 1/2 pound sugar snap peas, roughly chopped
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
- 1 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley
- 1 bunch fresh chives, thinly sliced (about 3 tablespoons)
- 1/2 pound dry pappardelle pasta
- 3/4 cup crumbled ricotta salata
- ground pepper, to taste
I had to look up what exactly ricotta salata was before deciding if I would use it. Ricotta Salata is a sheep milk cheese made from the whey. The whey is pressed, salted, and aged for at least 90 days so it has a strong saltiness to it (keep that in mind when seasoning the rest of the dish). It crumbles nicely and was a great choice for this dish. If you can’t find it, grated pecorino cheese was suggested as a substitute in the recipe.
Heat a large pot of salted water over high heat and bring to a boil. While waiting for the pot to come to a boil chop your scallions, snap peas, jalapeno, parsley, and chives.
Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter to a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the scallions, chopped snap peas, chopped jalapeno, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and add the parsley and chives.
When the pot of water is boiling, add the pappardelle and cook until al dente, about 6 minutes. Drain, reserving 2/3 cup of the cooking water.
Add the pasta to the large bowl with the vegetables and herbs, tossing to combine.
Add the reserved cooking water to the saute pan with 2 tablespoons of butter. Bring to a boil, whisking until the butter melts. Cook until the mixture reduces slightly, about 2 minutes.
Add the sauce to the large bowl and toss to combine. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of crumbled cheese, season with pepper, and toss to combine. Top with the remaining 1/4 cup cheese and serve.
What a yummy dish! The scallions, parsley, and chives add such a fresh taste to the pasta. There isn’t enough jalapeno to make the dish spicy, but just adds another layer of flavor. The ricotta salata adds creaminess and some saltiness to bring out the other flavors. And I loved the crunch of the sugar snap peas!
As for the pasta as a meal in preparation for a half marathon, my boyfriend finished third in his age group, so maybe it helped a bit! (Or, you know, all the training he’s been doing may have been the real factor here. Shh.)
- Kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 bunch scallions, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 cup of chopped scallions)
- 1/2 pound sugar snap peas, roughly chopped
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
- 1 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley
- 1 bunch fresh chives, thinly sliced (about 3 tablespoons)
- 1/2 pound dry pappardelle pasta
- 3/4 cup crumbled ricotta salata
- ground pepper, to taste
- Heat a large pot of salted water over high heat and bring to a boil.
- While waiting for the pot to come to a boil chop your scallions, snap peas, jalapeno, parsley, and chives.
- Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter to a large saute pan over medium-high heat.
- Add the scallions, chopped snap peas, chopped jalapeno, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and add the parsley and chives.
- When the pot of water is boiling, add the pappardelle and cook until al dente, about 6 minutes. Drain, reserving 2/3 cup of the cooking water.
- Add the pasta to the large bowl with the vegetables and herbs, tossing to combine.
- Add the reserved cooking water to the saute pan with 2 tablespoons of butter. Bring to a boil, whisking until the butter melts. Cook until the mixture reduces slightly, about 2 minutes.
- Add the sauce to the large bowl and toss to combine. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of crumbled cheese, season with pepper, and toss to combine. Top with the remaining 1/4 cup cheese and serve.
Great blog… your pictures are great too. What camera do you use? Thanks.
I consider myself as a good pasta chief.
I really enjoy doing pasta of all kind but i never did something like this.
Adding it to my to try list and will come back to rate the recipe!
Thanks a lot
Ghislain Poirier recently posted..Till the 24 of june: Win a 7 pieces cookset!