Happy Wednesday! It's almost Christmas, can you believe it? What a year this has been. Crazy is an apt description of the goings on around the world and outlandish stories in the news. We only have a few days left before we can put this year behind us and please let 2021 be better for us all.
We decorated this year, first time in a while, and set up outdoor lights, a light globe which projects colored snow on the house and trees and of course, the Christmas llama.
Before we settle in to watch Alastair Sim as Scrooge and celebrate quietly, I wanted to share a super easy recipe from Giada De Laurentiis. We will have enough of this for two dinners and one hot lunch.
I did make some adaptions and will tell you I did not smash the peas but left them whole and I did not use a full pound of tagliatelle pasta. As a matter of fact, I was out and used fettucine but it worked a treat. I did add more than 1 cup of ricotta to the mixture and it was very good.
Here is the recipe below - substitute per your taste and available ingredients.
Tagliatelle with Peas, Sausage and Ricotta Cheese
Ingredients
1 pound fresh or dried tagliatelle pasta (or other wide, long pasta - we used Fettucine)2 tablespoons olive oil2 cloves garlic, chopped1 pound hot Italian sausage, casings removed1 pound frozen peas, thawed1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese1 bunch fresh basil leaves chopped (about ¾ cup)¼ cup fresh grated Pecorino Romano cheese1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes if dry or according to package directions if fresh.
Drain pasta reserving 1 cup of the pasta cooking water.
Meanwhile, in a large, heavy skillet heat the olive oil and garlic over medium-high heat and add the sausage. Use a wooden spoon to break up the sausage into bite-sized bits. When the sausage has browned, about 5 minutes.
Add the peas to the pan and, using the back of the wooden spoon, smash the peas.
Turn off the heat. Add the ricotta cheese along with the cooked pasta and toss to coat, adding the pasta cooking water in ¼ cup additions, if needed, to make the pasta moist. I didn't need to add more water, I used more ricotta than it called for.
Add the basil, Pecorino Romano cheese, and salt.
Toss gently to coat and serve immediately.
Happy holidays and whatever you celebrate to all.
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This looks like such a delightful recipe. Thanks for you for sharing and merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteKaterina, thanks so much for visiting me on Christmas day. I hope you and yours are safe and having a good time.
DeleteI love those no-tomato pasta dishes from Italy. Of course I now know much more about real Italian cooking, but (as I've probably mentioned before) I once had a similar dish -- pasta, peas, cream & cheese -- at a conference banquet held in the Forum in Rome. An amazing event, and the food was a real revelation. So this post brings back memories!
ReplyDeleteI hope you are enjoying a wonderful Christmas, safely and in good health.
best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Mae, I love the tomato based pasta dishes but when we can do something different with olive oil or a white sauce it's very refreshing. I didn't know about your banquet in Rome but would love to hear about it. Please send me the link if you have posted about it before!
DeleteMy kind of pasta recipe since I am not a big fan of pasta. I have finally converted John to what he calls "white pasta sauce". He has always preferred tomato based sauces.
ReplyDeleteI have a similar recipe using brie, which is great because we get that huge brie from Costco that has to get used up quickly. It does freeze well though.
Jackie, using Brie sounds like a nice change. We have to get out to Costco after the crowds disperse a but. Maybe next week.
DeleteI like the sound of this dish. SOmetimes it's nice to have a white sauce instead of the usual tomato. The brie variation sounds yummy too.
ReplyDeleteBFR - I like using olive oil as well. Nice change.
DeleteHope you had a wonderful Christmas!
ReplyDeleteHi Greg, same to you! I hope Santa brought you lots of books :-)
DeleteI love the Christmas llama! So cute!
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly the kind of pasta dish my family loves to eat! I will have to give this one a go with some ricotta (it will be much lighter than the cream version)>
Happy New Year to you!
Kim, we love the llama too. It folds up into a surprisingly small box so it's easy to store. Yes, the ricotta makes it lighter but just as rich as a cream base. I am loving on the Giada recipes lately.
DeleteI prefer white sauces to tomato sauce! I love the idea of using ricotta like this. My husband made lasagna for Christmas so I used some of the leftover ricotta and scrambled it like eggs at breakfast the day after Christmas. I think we have one cup of ricotta left, and Italian sausage in the freezer!
ReplyDeleteLaurie, I never thouoght about ricotta with eggs, that's brilliant!
DeleteThis looks sooooo good and not too intimidating! The Christmas llama is the star of the post, though. I join you in hoping for a better, brighter 2021.
ReplyDeleteStacy, it’s an easy meal. Next time I may not add the pasta to the sauce and just ladle it and mix in my dinner plate. Yes! Hoping 2021 is much better!
DeleteI love the Christmas llama! Your lights are pretty too. We normally do the pretty traditional lit garlands and candles in the window but the only thing we got up this year was a small tree but it was still nice to have. The pasta dish looks yummy. I like that it's just plain ricotta. I might leave out the peas or replace them with something as peas aren't a favorite around here.
ReplyDeleteYep, it had been a while since I had decorated with all the Christmas decorations. I pulled it all out of the attic this year. Some things hadn't seen the light of day for ten years or so. I love the pasta! You could even link this up to FnF this month. L)
ReplyDelete