Here's the link the original recipe. And below is how I make it. It's another Woman's Day recipe. I get so many recipes from that magazine. It's the only reason I have a subscription. I don't even read the rest of the magazine, I've tried, but it just annoys me. For $5.00 a year I get my money's worth.
Creamy Pasta with Leeks, Peas & Parmesan
Active Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Serves: 6
1 Package orecchiette pasta (16 ounces)
1 Package frozen peas (16 ounces)
1 lemon
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 leeks (white and light green parts only), sliced into half-moons
Kosher salt and pepper
1 Pint heavy cream
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1. Cook the pasta according to package directions, adding the peas during the last 2 minutes of cooking; save a cup of the pasta water, then drain.
2. Zest the lemon.
3. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the leeks, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 6 to 8 minutes.
4. Add the cream, lemon zest and nutmeg and simmer until slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Add the pasta and peas to the skillet and toss to combine. Sprinkle with the Parmesan before serving.
Yum. I served ours with grilled sweet Italian sausage and lazy garlic toast. (Lazy garlic toast = toast some bread, butter it and sprinkle with garlic salt.)
A few tips for this dish:
1. Always save some of the pasta water, you should really do this with any pasta dish that will have a cream based sauce. Pasta water is truly amazing. It helps the sauce coat the pasta without the sauce tasting watered down. This time I used about half a cup of pasta water, but you should always save around a cup. Once you dump that heavenly water, you can't get it back.1 Package orecchiette pasta (16 ounces)
1 Package frozen peas (16 ounces)
1 lemon
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 leeks (white and light green parts only), sliced into half-moons
Kosher salt and pepper
1 Pint heavy cream
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1. Cook the pasta according to package directions, adding the peas during the last 2 minutes of cooking; save a cup of the pasta water, then drain.
2. Zest the lemon.
3. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the leeks, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 6 to 8 minutes.
4. Add the cream, lemon zest and nutmeg and simmer until slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Add the pasta and peas to the skillet and toss to combine. Sprinkle with the Parmesan before serving.
A few tips for this dish:
2. Every recipe I've seen that calls for leeks talks about cleaning the leeks. I've only had to clean my leeks once. Basically, if you see dirt in the middle of the leeks, then clean them. If not, don't worry about the extra step.
3. I use more peas, cream and pasta. I don't like when recipes call for weird amounts. I'd rather use a whole package of peas then leave 4 ounces just hanging around. (Not that we wouldn't eat them, we love peas in our house. That's another reason I add the extra peas.) Also, the recipe calls for 12 ounces of pasta, where in the world would you find a 12 ounce bag of pasta?
4. Don't throw away the lemon after zesting it, save it for another dish. I put mine in a Ziploc bag and put it in the fridge, I'll be using it on Friday in my green beans.
5. I don't use the tarragon it calls for because I don't like tarragon. If you like tarragon go ahead and add it. I don't know how it will taste though.
Since I used nutmeg two nights in a row I decided I should show you the "real" stuff. Here is nutmeg whole:
Here's nutmeg after a few trips across the micro plane:
I always get a kick out of the inside of the nutmeg. Don't ask my why, I'm weird, it makes me happy.
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