Skip to main content

Pea Green With Envy



If you have followed this blog for awhile, you’ll notice that I have a little love affair with peas (see Lemon Spaghetti with Pea Pesto). Not only do I enjoy their clean, bright taste, but I just love the vibrant, crisp green pearls on your plate. It’s like an accessory for your food, they dress up anything! Take this dish for example. Between the green pearly peas and the adorable farfalle it’s almost too pretty to eat. On a practical level (boo) they are cost effective and keep well in the freezer so you can always have them on hand. Peas are a healthy addition to any meal. Other vegetables must be so envious of the pea.

This dish is a take on a recipe from my Everyday Food Cookbook. It was supposed to be Salmon Farfalle with Mint and Peas. A very spring dish. I, however, did not have salmon but decided shrimp would be a good substitute. I know there are cultures, the Mediterranean for example, that use mint in savory dishes but I have to say, I am not a big fan of it in my savory dishes. Perhaps my palate is not tempered for mint in savory foods. While it did taste very springy and refreshing, I just found the mint to be a bit too assertive and longed for something a little milder. Maybe parsley or basil.

Shrimp and peas can always be kept on hand in the freezer. They thaw and cook quickly and pair wonderfully together. This is a dinner you can cook up on a whim for a weeknight dinner and is impressive enough for when unexpected company comes over.

Shrimp, Pea and Basil Farfalle

3/4 pound farfalle, or other short pasta
¾ pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
Coarse salt and ground pepper
Juice and finely grated zest of 1 lemons
1 package (10 ounces) frozen peas, defrosted
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil, plus more for serving

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta water; return pasta to pot. Season shrimp with salt and pepper, and place in a medium skillet. Add lemon zest. Saute about two minutes per side. Add peas, and cook over low heat. throughout, 2 to 3 minutes more. Add pasta to skillet; add lemon juice and basil. Season with salt and pepper. Toss carefully to combine. Add reserved pasta water as necessary to smooth sauce.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Autumn Lovin'

Yes, I realize that we are almost half way through September and I have yet to publish a post for this month.  My apologies.  To make up for it, I have a double post of good fall recipes for you.  Here you go: Fall. I love it for so many reasons. The first reason being how everything outside is so beautiful. Trees are dressed in brilliant shades of warm colors. I love the crisp air. I love pulling out the sweaters and jeans. I love tailgating. There are so many wonderful things about fall, I haven’t even gotten to the food yet! I absolutely love fall foods. Low and slow stews, caramel apples, mulled cider, warm donuts…I could go on but I’m afraid I’d drool all over the keyboard.  What do you love most about fall? Game Day Cookies So here are the ingredients: first cool weather of the year, first weekend of college football and your husband is hosting a poker party. What does that add up to? Baking of course. I decided that those ingredients were the pe...
3 comments
Read more

Letters to Bunny

Wow.  I didn't think I would ever be writing these letters, but I am so happy I am!  When I was pregnant with your big brother, we called him Pumpkin when he was in my belly and now I have started calling you Bunny, so that is why I call these, Letters to Bunny.  I didn't think I'd be writing these letters because it took almost 5 very long years to have you!  Now that you are here, I'm still in disbelief, but so happy I get to be a mom all over again!  Thank God! Being a mom is something I wanted to be my whole life.  When we had your big brother, Nate, it was the happiest time!  I knew right away that I wanted to have another baby.  Unfortunately, it wasn't so easy for me to get pregnant.  I didn't understand why.  We did lots of things to try to have a baby.  I went to many doctors, took many tests and x-rays, and after awhile of doing all these things, I kind of lost hope that I would ever be able to have another baby...
Post a Comment
Read more

Upper Peninsula Trip 2022

I have had a few friends ask me for the itinerary of our UP trip, so here it is! Tahquamenon Falls Tuesday, June 14 We left early morning and made our way up to the UP.  We crossed the bridge and had lunch in St. Ignace.  We continued on to Paradise, Michigan to see Tahquamenon Falls.   We started with the lower falls. I was under the impression that there were 2 falls: one smaller one and one larger one, but that is not the case. The lower falls are made up of several hiking trails and quite a few areas with different waterfalls.  We would walk the trail, come up to a fall and stay a bit.  For most of the falls, you can get close or even get your feet in the shallow parts of the water.   The upper falls has the larger, most recognizable falls.  You walk a short path to a deck area that gets you pretty close to the edge.  Its a beautiful view, and you can feel the mist that comes up from the falls.  There are also trails to get a mo...
1 comment
Read more