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Ham and Pea Pasta Recipe

Ham and pea pasta is a quick and easy dinner the whole family will love. It’s a comforting dish tossed in a garlic parmesan cream sauce with fresh or frozen peas.

This pasta recipe is a great way to use up leftover holiday ham! It’s delicious and perfect for a weeknight meal!

Cooking the Pasta

Ham is a classic spring ingredient, and this pasta recipe makes the most of leftovers. The creamy sauce is seasoned with an elevated zing of lemon zest, and the peas add a delicious pop of color to the dish. This ham and pea pasta is the perfect easy weeknight meal!

To make this pasta, start by boiling the pasta in a large pot of water. Add salt to the water and bring it to a boil, then add the pasta and cook until al dente, or tender but still firm to the bite (the low end of the cooking times on the package). Drain the pasta, and reserve about a cup of pasta water for the sauce.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add garlic and sauté until fragrant. You can use jarred garlic, or mince several cloves of garlic using a knife, garlic press, or a small kitchen tool like a grater.

Once the garlic is soft, add ham and frozen peas. Stir to combine. You can also use fresh peas if you’d like, but they will take longer to cook than frozen.

As the sauce cooks, it will thicken. It can become too thick for the pasta, so it’s important to stir frequently and add more sauce if needed. Once the sauce has thickened, add more cream and Parmesan.

If the sauce appears too thin, add some of the reserved pasta water. This will help to thin it out and add some flavor, too.

When the pasta is ready, toss it with the sauce in a serving bowl. If desired, garnish with parsley and serve immediately!

The creamy sauce in this ham and pea pasta is perfect for a quick and easy dinner. It’s a great way to use up leftover ham from holiday meals, and it comes together in a flash!

You can use any type of pasta for this recipe, and it is sure to please your family. If you’d prefer, you can use milk instead of cream in the sauce to reduce the fat content. It will also be a little less rich than the sauce made with cream, but it will still be creamy and delicious!

Sauteing the Garlic

Sauteing garlic is a great way to add flavor to any dish. It can be done with sliced, minced, or crushed garlic. It is important to saute garlic quickly so that it can blend the flavors of the other ingredients. It is also important to cook the garlic until it is very soft and fragrant, rather than burning it or losing much of its flavor.

You can use a variety of oils for this process, though you need to be aware that some oil have high smoke points that make them not good for sauteing. Using a non-stick pan or skillet is key for this process.

Slice your garlic as thinly as you can without cutting your fingers, then drizzle a small amount of oil into your pan or skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add your slivers of garlic and stir it until it begins to brown. This can take a few minutes, so be sure to watch it carefully.

Garlic is a common ingredient in most recipes, but it is often overlooked and underused. This is a simple mistake that can greatly impact the taste of a dish.

Whether you are cooking with sliced, crushed, or minced garlic, it is essential to saute the garlic quickly before it burns or loses its flavor. This is the best way to ensure that your dish will taste fresh and vibrant, and it will help prevent the discoloration of the other ingredients.

The garlic should be added with the onions, and not before. This is to give the onions a chance to absorb more of the garlic’s flavor.

As you saute the garlic, keep a close eye on it and stir it regularly to prevent it from burning. It can go from golden to burned very quickly, so be careful!

Once the garlic is browned and fragrant, you can add your ham and peas to the pan. This is a quick and easy dinner that the whole family will enjoy.

To make this recipe even easier, you can use frozen peas instead of fresh ones. Just be sure to drain them very well and allow them to cool before adding them to the pasta. This will help them not to mush up too much when it comes time to serve the pasta.

Making the Sauce

Ham and pea pasta is a delicious way to use up leftover holiday ham. It is also very easy to make and can be ready in just 20 minutes. It is a great recipe for dinner or lunch.

To prepare the sauce, start by sauteing diced shallots with a little bit of butter. Next, mix in flour to create a roux that will help thicken the sauce. Finally, mix in heavy cream to help blend the flavors and get a smooth texture.

You can add a variety of different ingredients to your sauce for extra flavor, such as dried basil or parsley. It is important to add these flavors at the beginning so they can be fully absorbed by the sauce. It is also important to keep an eye on the sauce, especially if it thickens too quickly as it can burn easily.

When you are done making the sauce, you will need to cook the pasta and then toss it with the sauce. This is a very simple step and it will help the sauce to absorb the flavor of the pasta and meld together into one dish.

It is important to remember that pasta will absorb the sauce while it is cooking, so you need to reserve a cup of hot starchy water before draining it. This will ensure that the pasta doesn’t turn into mush once it is tossed with the sauce.

After adding the pasta to the sauce, you will need to give the sauce a few good stirs so that the strands of pasta can get tossed evenly with the sauce. This is also a good time to add any reserved pasta cooking liquid to the sauce to help it thicken.

Once the pasta is tossed with the sauce, you will need to remove it from the heat and let it sit for a few minutes before serving. This will help the sauce to meld into the pasta and it will also make it easier for you to serve it up.

This ham and pea pasta recipe is a delicious dish that is perfect for any meal! It is also very easy to make and will be enjoyed by all.

Tossing the Pasta

Getting the pasta to cook right is vital for the flavor of this dish. You want to make sure the pasta is cooked to al dente so that it will be able to hold up well to the sauce. If it is not, it will absorb too much of the sauce and you will end up with a soggy mess.

You also want to use high quality pasta for this recipe. A good durum wheat semolina pasta will help to keep the sauce from becoming too dry, and it will have a better texture and stronger flavor than cheaper brand names.

When cooking the pasta, you want to use a large pot that is big enough to hold all of the pasta and the sauce. Set it to the stovetop, bring it to a boil, and follow the directions on the package for the time of cooking.

Once the pasta is done, drain it and reserve about a cup of pasta water. During the next step, you’ll add the pasta to the olive oil and garlic mixture so that it can absorb some of the sauce.

Now, you’ll add a little bit of the reserved pasta water to the sauce and toss it over medium heat for about 30 seconds. This will emulsify the sauce and will help to thicken it up.

If you find that the sauce is too thin, you can add a bit more water or even some extra pasta water. You can also add more Parmesan cheese if you like.

This is one of the easiest pasta recipes that I have ever made, and it’s perfect for those nights when you just want a quick and easy meal that doesn’t take too long to prepare. It comes together quickly and makes a great dinner for the whole family.

This ham and pea pasta is a perfect spring meal that takes less than 30 minutes to make! It is creamy and light, with lemon zest and fresh peas. It is a delicious and satisfying meal that is sure to impress everyone!

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