Pasta Piselli

Pasta Piselli

I first tasted this when I lived in Naples Italy, it was served as a first course at a friends house where I went for lunch. Lunch in Italy lasted 2 or 3 hours and was the main meal of the day. There were several courses and it was eaten leisurely over the space of about 2 hours. Very different from the quickie lunches we have here in the US.  I watched my friends Grandmother make this soup and was taken first by it’s simplicity, only a few ingredients but there was something about it that was so warm and comforting and delicious. My recipe is basically the same as what I observed the only thing that I do differently is that I add a pinch of lemon zest, it brightens the flavors and adds so much to the dish IMHO. I like to use fresh pasta but you can use dried it’s perfectly fine and works just as well. Feel free to use whatever type of pasta you like, for this I like long pasta, linguine is my favorite. You can also feel free to use parmigiano instead of romano if you like or mix them. It’s all good!!

Serves 2-4 depending on serving size

32 oz chicken broth or stock

1 cup fresh or frozen peas

1/2 pound fresh or dried pasta

1 large egg at room temperature beaten

1/2 cup grated pecorino romano cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Pinch of lemon zest (Optional)

Bring your broth or stock to a boil in a large saucepan, add the peas and cook for 3 minutes, add the pasta (If using fresh it only takes about 3 minutes to cook, dried takes longer 8 minutes approximately) NOTE: If using dried pasta it takes much longer to cook and you don’t want to over cook the peas. Dried pasta depending on the type can take 8-10 minutes so add the peas the last 5 minutes of cooking.

Beat the egg and add the grated cheese to the egg, combine. Remove pot from the heat and pour the egg in slowly stirring as you add. Add salt and pepper if you like, I like to add a pinch of lemon zest also, its optional. Serve with more cheese grated on top.