Pasta With Lemon Cream Sauce Ala Chef Lea Ann

When one of our favorite people and trained chef blogs about a recipe containing some of our favorite ingredients, it quickly moves to the top of the try-soon list.  When I told Bev about it, she immediately said that with ham and peas, we should consider it for Easter dinner so this meal ended up being a trial run.  I adjusted LA’s recipe a little for our taste as noted but please check her blog for some much better pics than mine.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter unsalted

1 clove garlic minced

1/4 teaspoon crushed dried chili pepper flakes

2 cups half-and-half or cream (cream for me)

4 ounces cooked ham (I used 8 oz cubed)

1 cup frozen peas

1 pound pappardelle pasta (I used angel hair)

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese - plus more on top

salt

2 lemons zested

½ lemon juiced (my addition)

Lemon wedges optional, for squeezing or garnish (I didn’t use)

Instructions:

1. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute until garlic is fragrant Add the crushed chili and stir.

2. Add cream and lemon zest. Gently bring to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes.

3. In the meantime, cut the ham into cubes. Add to the cream sauce as soon as you're finished cutting.

4. Cook pasta in 6-8 quarts of boiling salted water until al dente (about 8-10 minutes). Drain, and reserve 1/2 cup cooking liquid.

5. When the pasta is cooked and the sauce is done simmering, add the peas and the pasta to the lemon cream sauce and toss well.  (I added to peas to the sauce then poured it over the pasta n the pot)

6. Add 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water and toss again. Add the grated Parmesan cheese a little at a time, stirring on low heat until cheese is melted and sauce is creamy.

7. Serve immediately with a slice of lemon to squeeze on top.

We all thought it was very good and look forward to next time but I will make a few changes (below) and see how it turns out.  When I tasted the sauce, I decided I wanted it a little more lemony so I added the juice of a half lemon this time (about one tbsp).  We may not have won the Powerball Lottery but thanks to Lea Ann, we had a great supper.

For her dish, Lea Ann used pappardelle pasta and Bev went the other direction and requested angel hair for ours but I really prefer shaped pasta when using sauce with chunky stuff in it.  I think string pasta is great when using sauces that naturally stick to it when it is rolled (marinara, pesto, alfredo, etc), but otherwise the chunky stuff stays on the plate and the pasta needs to be cut into bite sized pieces to get some of everything on a fork.  So if the pasta must be cut into bite sized pieces to get it and the chunky stuff on a fork together, I prefer to use pasta that is already bite sized – bowtie, shell, penne, etc – but hey that’s just me.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

3/27/19 event date