Macaroni Peas
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- Prep time:
- Cooking time:
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- Serves: 4
Macaroni cheese is a classic and easy dish, but sometimes it can feel a little underwhelming. This variant adds peas and Parmesan into the mix, to create a salty-savoury note to the dish. Macaroni Peas adds a nice twist while still remaining an easy dish to cook.
- Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 500g of peas or petit pois
- 300g of macaroni
- 50g of butter
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 30g of Parmesan cheese (or any hard goat's cheese), coarsely grated plus extra for serving
- Salt and black pepper
- Fresh flat leaf parsley (chopped) to serve (optional)
Method
To start making Macaroni peas, bring a large pan of lightly-salted water to the boil, so that you’re ready to cook the macaroni pasta while the sauce is coming together.
Put the peas in a pan, cover with water, bring to the boil and simmer until tender – just a few minutes for frozen peas, longer for fresh peas.
When the peas are almost cooked, add the pasta to the pan of boiling water and cook until al dente.
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small pan over a low heat and add the garlic. Let it cook gently for just a couple of minutes, without colouring, then remove from the heat.
Drain the peas, reserving the cooking water. Put about half of them in blender with 6 tablespoons of the cooking water, the butter and garlic, and the grated cheese. Blitz to a smooth, loose purée, adding a little more water if needed. Combine with the whole peas and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Drain the pasta as soon as it is ready and toss immediately with the hot pea sauce. Serve topped with plenty of ground black pepper and more grated Parmesan. Chopped flat leaf parsley is a lovely finishing touch, although not essential.
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