Peas and Pasta

I am sitting here, watching the newest episode of Grey's Anatomy while I type up this recipe. It will probably take me the full hour to type this quick and easy pasta dish but that is only because I am obsessed with Grey's.It is my favorite show. So onto the recipe. Creamy ricotta cheese is mixed with smushed up peas and then thinned out with some pasta cooking water to make a delicious sauce for penne pasta. There isn't much in the way of flavor to this dish so seasoning it well will go along away. The basic recipe was something that Rachel Ray did not that long ago. I added some garlic and red pepper flakes to boost up the flavor a bit. If you want your kids to scarf this down, (which it's really kid friendly, I mean green pasta? What's for kids not to like!) just omit the red pepper, unless your kids are like mine and enjoy spicy things.

What You Need:

2 cups frozen peas
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 c chicken stock
2 clove garlic, minced finely
dash red pepper flakes
1/2 c parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
1 lb penne pasta with the ridges

What To Do:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt heavily. Cook the pasta according to package directions, making sure to save about a cup of pasta water to help thin out the sauce.
In a small sauce pan over medium low heat, cook the peas until hot, about 5 minutes or so. Remove 1/2 c of the peas and set aside. Mash the rest of the peas and stock with the garlic and red pepper or place in a food processor and puree, then stir it together with the ricotta, parmesan, salt and lots of pepper. If the sauce is a little thick, use some of the pasta water to thin it out. Combine the pea and ricotta mixture with the pasta and whole peas that you set aside. Serve.