Pasta e Piselli

Food Fight Vincent Vitale

Pasta and peas

My simple Italian recipe for a quick pasta dish is Pasta e Piselli otherwise known as pasta and peas. If you know how to boil water, you won’t have a hard time making this dish. It’s a pretty strait forward.

You will need;

- 1 bag of peas (frozen or not you’re choice).

- ¼ cup of olive oil.

- ½ of Onions.

- 1-¼ cup of tomato sauce (fresh, bought, whatever floats you’re boat).

- A box of 450 grams, short pasta (preferably something like Orecchiette or some other shell looking pasta).

*Recipe may vary. This is a general way of preparing it.*

1. So you start off by boiling a pot of water. When it comes to a boil you drop in the peas. Cook until they are just under done.


2. Simultaneously, heat olive oil in a pan (not to high…medium should be fine) and drop in the onions. Cook until lucid (clear).


3. Add the sauce and the peas in with the onions. Also pour in ¼ of the water you used to cook the peas in with the rest. Season with salt and pepper and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes.


4. As the sauce is cooking, boil some more water in a large pot. Drop in a pinch, or two, of salt and in goes the pasta. Cook on high heat (much faster) until desired texture, (preferably al dente; firm but not hard.)


5. Drain the water out of the pot, leaving only the pasta, and mix with your sauce. Make your dish, adding the amount of sauce and cheese that suits your tastes.

*If I’m not mistaken, you could have about 4 servings with 450 grams.*

This is probably one of the classic Italian recipes. I learned it from my parents. They learned it from they’re parents, and my grand-parents must have learned it from they’re parents…

We would eat this when my grand-mother would call us over for lunch on Sundays. Sometimes we’d prepare it when we want something simple and fast. It’s a basic pasta dish, depending on what you add to it. In my opinion, it seems like a healthy alternative to frozen pasta diners…Yuk! (No offence to those who like frozen pasta diners).