Friday, February 1, 2008

Tagliatelle with Smashed Peas, Sausage, and Ricotta Cheese



To be honest, I'm not a big fan of peas. However, I came across this recipe the other day, and I thought it would be a good dish to my boyfriend Chris, who actually likes a vegetable! Chris, my picky eater boyfriend is so picky that it literally will sometimes drive me insane. Theres a lot that I can't cook with because of the fact that he can't stand some of the things I cook with. And me being me, I use a lot of different spices and love to add a lot of vegetables to my food; Which he hates.

For example, I can't cook with onions. He will ultimately taste it right away if I cook with it. It's ridiculous! I can't cook with carrots or garlic and nor can I cook with broccoli, spinach or green beans. Most of them being vegetables and also being stuff I love to cook with, which, makes it hard for me to cook something for him that he'll actually enjoy and like.

The recipe sounded pretty easy and something that he'd actually eat since there were peas in it. I didn't really instead to really eat it because I'm not to big of a fan for peas, but I decided to at least try it. And to my surprise, I now have a new liking for peas. I think I came to dislike peas from my mother whom would always buy the canned peas with all the juice, which I loathed! The dish was actually kind of light, not to heavy, and really satisfing. Best part, there was garlic in this dish and Chris didn't even notice! Hehe.




Recipe

1 pd. tagliatelle pasta
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 pd. hot italian sausage, casings removed
1 pd. frozen peas, thawed
1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
1 bunch of basil leaves, chopped (about 3/4 cup)
1/4 cup grated pecorino romano cheese
1 tsp. salt


1. Bring a large pot to a boil on medium-high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite. Drain and reserve one cup of the pasta cooking water. Set aside.

2. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and garlic over medium-high heat and add the sausage. Use a wooden spoon the break up the sausage into bite size pieces. When sausage starts to brown, after about 5 minutes, set aside.

3. Add the peas to the pan and using the back of the wooden spoon, smash the peas. Turn off the heat. Add the ricotta cheese along with the cooked pasta and toss to coat, adding the reserved cooking water in 1/4 cup additions, if needed, to moisten the pasta.

4. Return sausage to the pan. Add the basil, pecorino romano cheese, and salt. Toss gently to coat and serve immediately.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Looks great. You can't go wrong with peas, hot Italian sausage and cheese! I make a very similar dish with orecchiette.

I'm glad you snuck in the garlic on Chris. You should continue doing that with other ingredients. He'll never know if you chop it up really small or blend it!

Ana said...

Hello!!
I just wanted to say hi and also that your blog is really cool! You have pretty pictures and nice recipes all over!
The poptarts were so cute, and this pasta dish looks like something my husband would enjoy! (he loooves pasta!)
I am 28 years old and also have a cooking blog (kitchenspace.blogspot.com), and I am really glad your mom allow you to do all these things in the kitchen!
I liked to cook since very young and try things in the kitchen but my mom was always afraid that I would get burned, cut, or hurt myself (although I never did!), so it was not fun to have her around cooking with me... (you know, she wanted to do the things I wanted to do, however, she didn't like to cook as much as I do, so what to me seemed like fun to her was a burden...)
Anyways, have fun and keep cooking, as I find it is the greatest thing of all!
I got by myself into the kitchen after I got married (8 years ago!!) and have had extreme fun ever since!!
Stop by my blog if you want, it is always fun to share new recipes!!
Ana

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

I love garlic, so I'm thrilled that you "secretly" got Chris to try it - kudos to you, girl!! :0D

is this recipe from Giada de Laurentiis? I saw her making it this morning on Food Network (on the "Game Day" episode of "Everyday Italian").

Sarah C. said...

Thanks for posting this recipe! I am going to make this for dinner this week. I am already looking forward to it!

Anonymous said...

This has so many ingredients that I like...sausage, garlic, basil. Sounds really good!

 
 
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