Yesterday these tagliatelle with heavy cream, ham, and peas were my salvation. I had just arrived home wanting to do nothing but sleep, but it had been too many days since I posted a recipe, my body was craving pasta, and I had just invited my little sister over for dinner because she had to stop by the house to pick up a book (I am one of those people who has the “well, since you’re coming/you’re here, stay for dinner” tic, without thinking about what I have in the fridge, or valuing how much I really want to cook, or to what extent I might get overwhelmed if I have guests and don’t offer them a minimally elaborate meal).[adbreak]
To do it perfectly, I should have used Garganelli, a type of egg pasta typical of Emilia, similar in shape to penne rigate, which is usually used for this recipe, but I didn’t have any. It must be said that with tagliatelle, also typical of the same region, it turned out great, and for that very reason, I dare to recommend them as a substitute for Garganelli, because I wouldn’t know where to tell you to find Garganelli around here, and tagliatelle are sold in almost any supermarket.
Enjoy!
- 200 g fresh tagliatelle
- 75 g cooked ham, diced
- 100 g small extra-fine frozen peas
- 100 ml heavy cream
- 20 g butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Nutmeg
- Pepper
- Salt
- Get the water for the pasta heating, because the rest is done very quickly.
- Heat the two tablespoons of oil in a pan and add the peas when the oil is hot.
- Stir the peas, add 4 tablespoons of water, a little salt, and let them cook over low heat until they are cooked through.
- In another pan, heat the butter and brown the diced cooked ham.
- When they are browned, incorporate the heavy cream, a pinch of nutmeg, and season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.
- Combine the peas, the sauce, the cooked pasta, and a couple of tablespoons of the pasta cooking water in the same pan.
- Sauté the tagliatelle with the rest of the ingredients for a minute and a half.
