Tagliatelle With Fresh Green Peas

A must do recipe for the beginning of the summer is pasta with fresh green peas. And I mean fresh, because the dish simply isn't going to work with canned or even frozen ones. The recipe requires only that you pre boil the peas for 5 minutes in salted water. I was fortunate enough to receive the peas from a neighbor of my parents who was just picking them of the stem in the garden. She gave the peas to us in the pods, so my wife spent 15 minutes just taking the cute little green pearls of the stems. Pleasant 15 minutes, though!

INGREDIENTS (serves two):

• 150-200 gr. fresh green peas;
• tagliatelle pasta (can use fettuccine or other ribbon like pasta);
• 3 tbs. olive oil;
• 3-5 strips bacon or pancetta;
• 1 clove garlic;
• 150 ml. cooking cream;
• 50 gr. parmesan cheese, grated;
• salt, pepper, oregano (optional).

HOW TO MAKE:

First set up some salted water and boil the green peas for no more than 5 minutes.

Heat up some olive oil in a pan and add the bacon cut up into thin bits. Brown the bacon for 5-7 minutes. Add the chopped garlic to flavor the oil. Do not brown the garlic (adjust the heat to low). Immediately add the cooking cream to form a sauce. Salt and pepper. Add some dry oregano. In a nearby pot the pasta should already be boiling according to the instructions on the pack. If the sauce is too thick, add a ladle of the pasta water. When the pasta is al dente, strain and add it to the sauce in the pan. Stir well to coat the pasta with the creamy sauce. Add some more of the pasta water to thin the sauce, until it has a silky consistency. Add the strained fresh green peas,  and the grated parmesan cheese. Stir well. Plate and enjoy hot, immediately!