Creamy Pasta with Peas

This is the other of the two recipes I tried this week and really liked. I didn't realize it until now, but they are both from the Martha Stewart site. I find that site to have a ton of easy-to-make recipes, and it's a good source for family dinners. If I want to go a little fancier or use some more exotic ingredients, I will try other sites or one of my cookbooks, but for quick and easy the Martha Stewart recipes are really useful.

This particular recipe actually calls for a "kid" version and an "adult" version, with the former omitting the pine nuts and arugula. Why?!? My kids eat both of those things, and they do so because I've never made kid versions of any dish. They eat what the grownups eat at dinner, and as a result they don't need to have a kid version of this or any dish. To me, making kid versions of recipes just creates a false need for kid versions; any kid can eat things like pine nuts and arugula if you just expose them to it. But enough of my soapbox: here's the recipe (which my kids loved, by the way)

Creamy Pasta with Peas

(MarthaStewart.com)

serves 4

• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 lb farfalle pasta
• 1 package (10 ounces) frozen green peas
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup canned reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts
• 1 bunch (5 ounces) arugula, tough stems removed, chopped
  
  
• -- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente, according to package instructions; add peas 1 minute before end of cooking. Drain; return pasta and peas to pot.
• 
  
• -- Meanwhile, in a large skillet, combine cream and chicken broth; simmer until thickened slightly, 7 minutes. Stir in Parmesan until melted.
• 
  
• -- Toast pine nuts in a skillet over medium heat, shaking frequently, until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Add to reserved pasta along with arugula; season with pepper. Toss to combine, and serve immediately.