Pasta with Mushrooms, Peas and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

From Elisa Celli’s Italian Light Cooking, Elisa Celli, Prentice Hall Press, 1987.

I’m glad I picked this older book again from my bookshelf. I’m enjoying getting back into the solid recipes.

This particular pasta did have prosciutto in it but I decided just to leave it out as the ingredients sounded as though they would work equally well without the meat.

It was a quick meal to prepare. First dried porcini mushrooms had to be soaked. While they were doing their bit, the remainder of the ingredients were got ready. An onion was chopped. A cup of frozen peas was taken from the freezer to defrost. A half-cup of sun-dried tomatoes (the kind marinated in oil) were chopped. Three garlic cloves were crushed. A little Italian herb seasoning was added to the sun-dried tomatoes.

By the time all this was ready the mushrooms had had sufficient time so they were sliced.

A pot of salted water was put on to boil . When it was ready the pasta was added to cook. At the same time the sauce ingredients were added to a frying pan with some olive oil and sautéed to be ready when the pasta was.

When it was cooked the pasta was drained and added to the sauce in the frying pan with a little of the cooking liquid.

It was all blended and put into the serving plates with some Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

A satisfying and easy pasta dish. I particularly liked the flavour bites from the tomatoes and the texture that the peas added.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔

As some of these books may be out of print if anyone would like a particular recipe, email me (alfcooksvege@ozemail.com.au) and I’ll send an abbreviated version. Of course, the whole book would be better; it’s loaded with other goodies.