Say hello to your new favorite weeknight dinner! This pasta with peas and zucchini comes together in 30 minutes in just one pot! Frozen peas and fresh zucchini are cooked quickly in a pan, then small pasta is added and cooked until tender. It's finished with a generous helping of stracciatella cheese. Simple ingredients, big flavor!
This recipe is the perfect easy meal! It's one that my nonna made all the time (minus the stracciatella, that was my touch). And if it was good enough for nonna, the queen of one pot pasta recipes, then it's definitely good enough for me!
It's a cross between nonna's classic pasta e piselli and pasta e zucchine. With this dish, you get the best of both worlds.
I love how it's such a bright green color, and if you choose to add the stracciatella, it makes the dish extra creamy. It definitely is optional though!
And if you want to pair this dish with a protein, a classic pollo al forno or steak pizzaiola would make an excellent second course!
Let's make it!
Recipe
One-Pot Pasta Piselli e Zucchine
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
- ½ cup onion chopped into small dice
- 800 mL warm water approximate, see notes
- 1 ½ cups zucchini chopped into a medium dice
- 1 ½ cups frozen peas
- 175 grams small pasta like ditalini, small shells or similar
- ¼ cup stracciatella cheese optional
- 6 basil leaves optional
- zest of one lemon (about 2 tsp) optional
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a pan with high sides or a small pot, over medium heat, add the olive oil.
- Once olive oil is heated through, throw in the chopped onion. Cook it for a few minutes until it's golden and fragrant.
- Throw in the peas and zucchini. Toss them in the olive oil and onion for just a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Cover the zucchini and peas with warm water. You will not use the full 800mL of water at this point, use just enough to cover the vegetables. Keep the extra water on the side.
- Cook the zucchini and peas for about 5 minutes.
- Remove about 1 ¼ cups of the peas and zucchini into a measuring cup, and using an immersion blender, blend until a smooth, bright green purée forms.
- Pour the purée back into the pan. Adjust for salt and pepper. Let everything come to a boil.
- Once the mixture comes to a boil, throw in the pasta.
- As the pasta cooks, it will start to dry out. When it dries out, add more water. Keep doing this until the pasta is done to your liking. And make sure to keep stirring, or else the pasta will stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Plate, and top with stracciatella, fresh basil and lemon zest, if desired. Buon Appetito!
Recipe Notes
- The amount of water that you will use will depend on a number of factors: what type of pasta you use, how long you cook it for, and how soupy or dry you prefer this dish. The 800mL indicated in this recipe is an approximation - you may use more or less.
- You can make this pasta as dry or a soupy as you like - it just depends on your preferences!
- To store: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days
- To reheat: Place in a saucepan on the stove over medium heat and add a splash of water, as the pasta will dry out in the fridge. Give it a few good stirs until heated through.
Leave a Reply