Plate du Jour

For the last few days I don’t cook because my boyfriend is on holidays. I’m so lazy, true…Today however, on my way home I was thinking that I can’t end up eating AGAIN prosciutto with melon and avocado! So I made one of my favorite types of pasta- alla boscaiola, but this is only one of many versions I cook. It depends really on what I have in the fridge, how tired I am and again how tired I am. It’s an easy and quick recipe, and this is the option you go for if you ask yourself twice how tired you are and you have to cook! I used to have this pasta at least twice a week for lunch in a small restaurant Caffe Parigi, in Dublin. It was one of the nicest places for lunch ever. One of those where once you become a regular, you could chat to the owner, who worked with everyone, you could even get a coffee for free from time to time! They would make you feel special only by remembering what you have for breakfast in the morning, or what’s your favorite dish for lunch. I truly miss that place.

Ingredients

Makes serving for one of course, but just increase the amount of pasta and veggies, preparation time- 10-15 minutes, cooking time 15-20 min- regardless of the number of servings

1. 4-5 asparagus spears
2. 150 g of green peas
3. 2-3 slices of cooked ham, feel free to use bacon, I do it from time to time too
4. 2-3 table spoons of cottage cheese
5. pasta of any kind- I would use long pasta- linquine, spaghetti or tagliatelle, or try pasta corta such as orecchiette
6. some olive oil
7. salt and white pepper

Preparation

Trim the dry end off of the asparagus. As for the tops of the spears it’s up to to you if you wish to cut them off or leave them. I usually cut them off. You can also peel the spears gently if necessary. Chop asparagus in small pieces, like on the picture below.

In a pot boil some water, add salt and start cooking  green peas. After 3-4 minutes add also asparagus and cook the vegetables for another 5-6 minutes, not longer. In the meantime grease the frying pan with some olive oil and fry ham- sliced in small pieces. Once the veggies are tender, drain them and combine with ham. Fry everything together for another 5 min or so. Don’t forget to add some salt and white pepper.

As the last thing you need to add cottage cheese. I usually add 2-3 table spoons, but you can also use thick cream. Combine all ingredients together, and it’s done!

Even before the sauce is ready, boil some water for the pasta. Cook it as long as as required and combine it with the sauce immediately once cooked.