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Carbonara with Sweet Peas and Ham

Source of Recipe

From "My Family Table" by John Besh


Recipe Introduction

"I always have a bit of good baked ham on hand because our family loves to make carbonara. Even if fresh green peas are not in season, I always keep a few packages of frozen peas in the freezer just so we can make this recipe easily. I've often substituted fava beans, lima beans, or shelled soy beans for the sweet peas, for interesting takes on this classic Italian dish."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 1 pound linguine
â—¦ 2 tablespoons olive oil
â—¦ ½ cup diced ham
â—¦ 2 cloves garlic, minced
â—¦ 1 cup sweet peas
â—¦ Leaves from 1 sprig fresh thyme
â—¦ ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
â—¦ 1 cup cream
â—¦ 1 egg yolk
â—¦ ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
â—¦ 1 dash nutmeg
â—¦ Salt
â—¦ Freshly ground black pepper


Recipe

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the linguine and cook for 11 minutes. Drain.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ham and garlic and sauté gently just until the garlic is softened. Add the peas, thyme, and red pepper and cook until the peas are just heated through. Add the cream and let simmer for a minute.

Add the cooked linguine to the skillet and mix to combine. Turn off the heat and mix in the egg yolk. Add the Parmesan cheese and nutmeg and mix well. Season well with salt and pepper and serve it up right from the pan.

Serves 6