My dad would make Ham, Pea, Bow every year for my birthday. The title originates from the early lives and the very ingenious DellaRatta girls and their pasta making dad. It’s founded on three extremely simple and inexpensive ingredients of ham, peas, and bow ties, or farfalle.
This should be the components to all immaculate pasta dishes- cheap and simple.
In the last few years it has recycled itself into my adult life, and is now requested by my very adult boyfriend.
This is a cream based sauce, and the only one thing to not do- is break the sauce. If you cook any cream based whatever, keep the heat consistent, and it wont break. Low is better, and always add the cheese last! No curdssss or lumps, but if it donsen't go this way, because truly, sometimes it dosent! The curds and lumps will not disrupt the fabulousness of this dish. This dish cannot be bad.
Its a youthful dish, it can be made with any pasta shape ( as pictured here). Keep it light, keep it fun, try not to break your sauce. This is a nostalgic pasta, so in my new really stressul world of change where I cannot be here or now, I can be there.
p.s
My new house has lime green linoleum counter tops.... Thats a story for another day. Things are changing fast, maybe thats adulthood. Change is hard but, The pasta is the present.
Also I didnt use "bow" , So I guess I am all talk - But also sometimes adulthood prevents you from using the pasta of your choice because you have too much of another pasta.
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 small -med sized packaged ham steak cubed ( yes, the one you would use for ham and eggs or something breakfast-y. Usually near the sausage or bacon area)
1/2 lb farfalle ( or pasta of your choice)
1 shallot minced
2 cloves garlic minced
1/4 cup sherry
1 cup light or heavy cream
1 1/2 cups grated parmesan
drizzle of olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup frozen peas
- Please do not do canned peas, I think they are significantly less than frozen peas. Dust bunnies.
salt
pepper
1 teaspoon fresh red pepper.
Directions
Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water. cook until al dente ( it will finish cooking in the sauce you make). Se aside 2 cups of the starchy pasta water before draining. set both aside. ( we might not use 2 cups)
heat a large heavy skillet on med/high heat. Once hot, add your ham and cook until browned. Lower heat to a medium and add in the garlic and shallots, season with salt and pepper. You dont want your garlic to brown. Cook for about 3 minutes.
bump your heat back to med/high and add in your sherry and deglaze the pan, scraping up all the bits of browned ham fat that stuck to the bottom.. Let this cook off for about a minute or two.
Once most of your sherry is burned off ( You want a little bit still in the pan) add in your frozen peas and stir, lower your heat to a med/low. Add in your heavy or light cream. season with another small pinch of salt and pepper. **remember, we dont want to break the sauce, so we want this to thicken w/o becoming lumpy, which means we dont want to fuss w the heat.
let your sauce simmer for around 4-5 minutes, stirring every minute, until it is just the slightest bit thickened, it should be bubbling a little. Add in your pasta and toss the pasta around the cream, then add 1/2 cup of your water. Toss and let the pasta water form a glossy sauce, it should be thickening as it cooks ( about 2 minutes)- Thats the idea! Once thickened, Add in another 1/4 cup of pasta water and your parmesan and stir, let simmer another minute or two.
At this point use your best judgement as to if the sauce needs a bit more pasta water, get it to where you want it. When it is there, take it off the heat, add 2 tablespoons of butter, a drizle of olive oil, salt to taste, and a heaping amount of freshly ground black pepper, and stir. Your sauce should be extra glossed. Divide among bowls and top with your left over parm.
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