• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Italian Food Made Simple

  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Resources
    • Conversion Charts
    • Glossary
  • Travel Italia
  • Contact
  • Did You Know

Pasta With Peas and Mint

November 9, 2015 by Barbara 2 Comments

 

This lovely bow tie pasta with peas and mint also contains lemon, cream and butter and makes a delicious first or second course.

A handful of fresh mint can turn a good recipe into an outstanding recipe and this bow tie pasta dish is no exception.

Mintha in Greek mythology was turned into a plant after the jealous wife to Pluto fell in love with her.

Here it is November in Northern Virginia and my outdoor mint is still going strong so I thought I’d share this great pasta recipe in case anyone out there has the same kind of luck with mint.

The Myth of Mint

I have a few variations of this story but it generally goes something like this: Mintha was a beautiful nymph who caught the roving eye of the god Pluto, whose jealous wife Proserpine turned her into a plant.  To keep the peace, Pluto left her as a plant but gave her a lovely, unique scent. But I really think she got the short end of the stick.

Anyhow, mint has been a key ingredient in food in many cultures throughout  history.  It also was thought to have digestive properties and an ability to cure coughs and colds.  While it’s never cured any cold of mine, I still like a little fresh mint in just about anything.  As you can see by the photo below, I’ve used my handy mezzaluna to quickly chop up the mint.  If you don’t have a mezzaluna, buy one (Amazon sells them) as it’s the quickest way to chop ingredients such as herbs, garlic and shallots.

If you have an Italian mezzluna, it's great for chopping herbs in a very short time.

You start this dish by slowly building a very simple sauce, beginning with cooking shallots in butter. Then one by one add your flavors: lemon, wine, broth, cream. If you have no white wine on hand, dry vermouth is a great substitute and that’s what I’ve used here.  A bottle of vermouth can keep forever in the cupboard. Cook the pasta, toss it with the sauce and add the peas, Parmesan, zest and mint.

This recipe serves two but you can easily double it to serve more. Enjoy!

Bow tie pasta with peas and mint is a light and refreshing pasta dish.

Print

Bow Tie Pasta with Peas and Mint

Yield: Serves 2

Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup finely chopped shallots
  • 1 tablespoon, plus 2 teaspoons, unsalted butter
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup dry white wine for dry vermouth
  • 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
  • 8 ounces bow tie pasta
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

Directions:

  1. Set 4 quarts of water to boil for the pasta
  2. In a saucepan cook the shallots in 1 tablespoon butter over moderate heat until softened.
  3. Add the lemon juice and wine or vermouth and boil until liquid is reduced to 2 tablespoons
  4. Stir in the broth and boil until the liquid is reduced to about 3/4 cup
  5. Add the cream and boil until the liquid is again reduced to about 3/4 cup
  6. Stir in the peas, the zest and the Parmesan and cook until the peas are heated through.
  7. Cook the pasta according to package directions and drain well. Toss with 2 teaspoons butter
  8. Pour the pasta into the saucepan, add the mint and toss the pasta with the sauce
  9. Serve with more grated Parmesan cheese

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: bow-tie pasta, pasta with mint, pasta with mint and peas, pasta with peas

Previous Post: « Giolitti For Gelato in Rome
Next Post: Parmesan Pepper Crisps »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lucy A.

    November 12, 2015 at 5:56 pm

    I made this dish a couple of nights ago and the kids loved it! Thanks!
    Lucy

    Reply
    • Barbara

      November 16, 2015 at 11:29 pm

      Lucy, I’m so glad the girls liked it. Thanks for letting me know. I grilled some chicken to layer over the pasta to make it a complete dinner. Barbara

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar


Hi. I'm Barbara Francis and I hope you like authentic Italian food as much as I do. It's simple, fresh, seasonal. What's not to like? And it's part of my heritage. So join me in the kitchen of Italian Food Made Simple. Just step right over the dog, she won't move even if you ask her.

more about me ยป

Stay Connected

RSS Twitter Facebook

Search

Archives

  • June 2018
  • February 2018
  • May 2017
  • March 2017
  • November 2016
  • September 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014

Copyright © 2023 Italian Food Made Simple on the Foodie Pro Theme