Pasta with peas

This dish was made by my mother as soon as the very tender and sweet, new season peas were available; it can also be made with very fresh board beans. She used to make a plain pasta, fro just flour and water, purposely for this dish so that when cooked it had a marvelously soft texture. I suggest you use a large and possibly flat type of eggless pasta and cook it a little longer than usual, so that you achieve the same softness. Don’t use tinned peas for this recipes; if you can’t find fresh peas then use frozen ones.

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, peeled and finely sliced
• 50 g (2 oz) cooked ham, cut into very thin strips
• 300 g (11 oz) podded fresh garden peas ( or broad beans)
• 1.2 litres (2 pints) chicken stock
• 200g (7 oz) dried lasagne or pappardelle, broken into pieces
• 6 basil leaves, chopped
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Heat the oil and fry until soft, then add ham, the peas and the stock and cook for 10 minutes or until the peas are soft. Add the pasta and the basil, taste and add salt and pepper, and cook for another 10 minutes until the pasta is soft.