Pasta with Peas, Arugula and Prosciutto

This recipe for Pasta with Peas, Arugula
and Prosciutto is from Fine Cooking.
I cut out the recipe from the magazine
several years ago and set it aside.
It caught my eye because of the arugula and peas
but I hesitated to make it because it
really has no sauce, causing me to fear
that it would be bland.
I finally took a chance on this recipe and
am so glad that I did because it was
very good.

The Peas, Arugula and Proscuitto
add so much flavor to this dish
that it works out perfectly.

I made two very small changes /
substitutions to the reicpe while
making it. Instead of using orecchiette
I went with a small, shell, noodle.
You will notice that the recipe only calls for
lemon juice but I am a huge fan of lemon
so I also added a tsp. or so of grated
lemon zest.



Pasta with Peas, Arugula and Prosciutto
Recipe from Fine Cooking

1 lb. dried pasta, such as orecchiette or penne
1 lb. arugula (I used baby arugula)
6 Tbs. unsalted butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. fresh English peas, shelled, or 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbs. olive oil
10 thin slices prosciutto, diced (6 to 7 oz.)
2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
( I added 1 tsp. grated lemon zest)
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano; plus 3/4 cup shavings for garnish
2 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley



Put a pot of water on to boil. Salt it well and boil the pasta following the package directions.

Wash and thoroughly dry the arugula. If it large leaf arugula give it a little chop. If you have small leaf arugula there is no need to chop it up.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt 4 Tbs. of the butter. Add the garlic and sauté until barely golden, about 2 minutes. Add the peas and sauté until tender-crisp, another 3 to 4 minutes if using fresh or 1 minute if using thawed frozen. Season lightly with salt and pepper. With a slotted spoon, remove the peas and garlic from the pan and set aside. Leave as much liquid in the pan as possible and add the olive oil to the pan. Add the prosciutto and cook until very lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the arugula in batches, stirring and adding handfuls as it wilts. Add the lemon juice ( and zest). Cook briefly, unitl the greens have wilted.

Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water before draining the pasta. In a large bowl or pot, toss the pasta with the peas, prosciutto, arugula, and grated Parmigiano, along with 1/2 cup of the reserved cooking water. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Toss all the ingredients. If the pasta seems dry, toss with more of the reserved cooking water. When serving the pasta, garnish each serving with a little bit of the parsley and the Parmigiano shavings.

I am so glad I finally made this dish
because it turned out very good.
I will definately make this again.