10 April, 2021
Pasta e piselli (Pasta and Peas)
In Calabria Pasta e piselli (Pasta and peas) is made with tomatoes and is a soup. The peas are the star of the show in this dish and like many minestre is put together with a few simple ingredients which when cooked together are bursting with flavor.
Ingredients for about 2 generous portions::
- ~2 tsp olive oil
- 1/3 onion-thinly sliced
- 3/4 cup peas
- salt
- about 1 cup of tomato sauce/puree*
- few sprigs of celery stalk leaves
- water
- d’italini pasta
*about 1 cup of tomatoes can be used instead of the sauce/puree
In a saucepan over medium – high heat add the olive oil and chopped onion, cook until translucent (no more than 2-3 minutes). Add the peas, salt (and black pepper if you like) to taste. Next add the tomato sauce/puree and about a half a cup) of water to thin it out. Throw in some of the celery leaves (or a few sprigs of Italian parsley) for aroma. Cover and simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes.
In a separate pot cook the desired amount of d’italini pasta according to the package directions, drain and then combine with the peas in the saucepan if using it all at once. Otherwise, add the appropriate amount of peas to the pasta and save the rest of the peas in the fridge or freezer for later.
Note: Something I learned from my grandmother is to measure out three tablespoons of pasta per person. Give it a try.
Serve and enjoy!