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Sweet Peas and Shells Alfredo

Source of Recipe

From "The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook" by Deb Perelman


Recipe Introduction

"When I was a kid, I was unwaveringly certain that fettuccine Alfredo was the most glamorous dish on earth and if that didn't give it away, yes, I grew up in the 1980s. Alfredo was on every menu before the low-fat craze eradicated its lushness, as eighties as walnut oil, raspberry vinegar, and me having a very unfortunate set of bangs. Obviously, given the chance to talk about pasta for a few pages, I had to drag it back here for its renewal (but hopefully not its farewell tour). However, there are a couple things that make this dish especially difficult to construct as an adult, both pertaining to things I didn't know then that I am not sure I am glad I know now. The first is that the thick, creamy Alfredo sauce is as authentically Italian as, well, pizza seasoning blends. The second is that it's much harder as an adult with nagging concerns about arteries and double chins to mindlessly delight in an unapologetic puddle of butter, cream, cheese, and refined flours the way I did as a kid. But I think if you're going to do something, you should do it right, and if I wanted to find some crystalline sliver of my childhood in a rich bowl of pasta, I was going to have to do it properly—that is, immoderately. And I *almost* pulled it off, but the week I was tinkering with this recipe, I managed to run the little Italian store down the street out of the tiny pasta shells I like best for this dish, leaving only the dreaded whole wheat ones behind. Then, the market by my apartment had fresh shelling peas, and once they landed in the dish, and nested themselves in those little shells, I was too charmed to consider making it without them again. My inner thirteen-year-old might understandably be appalled that I 'grown-upped' this with icky fresh vegetables and whole grains, but my outer adult thinks that the sweet, crunchy peas offset the richness perfectly, the heartiest pasta is an excellent stage for all the sauce, and that, quite often, pasta dishes (and tastes in bangs, thank goodness) are improved with age."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ Salt to taste
â—¦ ½ pound dried small pasta shells, regular, whole wheat, or, if you're a poor planner, a mix
â—¦ 1 cup fresh shelled peas (from about 1 pound in the pod)
â—¦ 1 cup heavy cream
â—¦ 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
â—¦ Freshly ground black pepper
â—¦ 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
â—¦ 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
â—¦ 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley


Recipe

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the pasta, and cook according to package instructions. Add peas to cook during the last 30 seconds of pasta cooking time. Reserve ½ cup pasta cooking water, and set aside. Drain the pasta and the peas together.

Dry out the pasta pot, and pour in the heavy cream. Bring the cream to a simmer, and cook it until slightly reduced, about 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the butter, and stir it until it has melted. Generously season the sauce with freshly ground black pepper; add a pinch of salt as well as the lemon zest. Add ¾ cup of the Parmesan, and stir it until the sauce is smooth; then toss in the drained pasta and peas. Cook the pasta in sauce for 2 minutes, until the sauce has slightly thickened. Add the reserved pasta water by the spoonful if needed to loosen the sauce.

Divide the pasta among bowls. Garnish with remaining Parmesan and the flat-leaf parsley.

Serves 2 generously or 4 petitely