Peas and Pesto

There's nothing better than proper, authentic Italian pasta. The flavoursome sauce, the texture of the pasta...perfection. In Sheffield, Italian restaurant and bar Nonnas hit the nail on the head when it comes to original, authentic Italian food. Their food is out of this world and it's what has inspired my Pea and Pesto Penne dish. A few months ago they did the catering for one of our work events and introduced this very simple but ridiculous tasty dish to me. I'm not saying mine will be anywhere near as good as the real deal Nonnas dish, but it still has the authentic taste of a true Italian dish.

This will serve three-four people.

All you need is: 
250g pasta
1/2 bag of frozen peas
1 jar of reduced fat pesto (or homemade - I use Jamie Oliver's recipe)
1/2 lemon, juice only
50g parmigiano reggiano
50ml Olive Oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
A small glass of dry white wine
Fresh basil, to serve

Chop those onions. Chop, chop...

Fry them on a low-medium heat in a little oil - softened is key, browned too quickly is not.

Pour in the white wine and turn up the heat a little and cook until the alcohol burns off a little(pour a glass of wine for yourself while you're at it!) 

Get your pesto ready now if you're making your own (link to Jamie Oliver's recipe I use with the ingredients)

Put your pasta on now for 10 minutes until softened.

Add some basil to the onions and wine.

Mix in your pesto.

Add the frozen peas and stir in well.

Add the olive oil (you can skip this step if you'd rather not use it)

Grate up your Parmesan. As much as possible. The more, the better in my opinion.

Stir it into the pan. Mix it well so everything is coated.

When the pasta is done, throw it on top and stir in.

It looks so good and smells even better...

Dish it up, sprinkle some more Parmesan on top and plenty of pepper.

Such a nice summer time dish!

And dessert to follow, of course...

Vanilla icecream with a generous helping of popping candy.

I seriously love the stuff. What's better than candy that crackles in your mouth and makes you giggle while you eat it? Nothing I tell you, nothing!

N xo