Creamy Orecchiette with Prosciutto and Snow Peas

This comforting dish was passed along by my sister Yvette from her Italian mother-in-law’s kitchen. With only three ingredients, it’s the embodiment of Italian cooking—simplicity that yields huge flavor. A handful of snow peas adds crunch and a pop of color. Ask your deli to thinly slice the prosciutto and stack evenly so it’s easy for you to chop. No tissue paper between the slices, please.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 ounces sliced prosciutto, chopped into 1/4” pieces

Freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 tablespoons salt

Snow peas to taste, chopped into 1” pieces for garnish

8 ounces orecchiette pasta

Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions

Place heavy cream and prosciutto in a heavy sauce pan over medium heat and “cover the top,” as Yvette was instructed, with pepper.

Warm until the surface is bubbly, stirring occasionally and watching closely so mixture does not boil over. Scrape the sides of the pan down and adjust the heat to low, maintaining a simmer to reduce and thicken the sauce. Twenty minutes in, check for consistency and adjust seasoning. The saltiness of the meat is usually enough to flavor the cream.

Bring salted water to a boil in a medium stock pot. Add the snow peas and blanch for two minutes; remove with a spider strainer and plunge into an ice bath to quickly stop the cooking to maintain the bright color and crispness.

Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to packet directions. Drain, divide into individual dishes, sprinkle with snow peas and ladle on a generous portion of the sauce. Finish with pecorino Romano.