Pasta & Peas: Italian Peasant Comfort Food

When I was a child, my neighbor Grandma Gerry, a big motherly Sicilian woman, was my babysitter.  She was more than a babysitter, taking care of us for nearly 12 hours of the day - more like a nanny - but, middle class people don't have nannies, so we called her our babysitter :)  And everyone in the neighborhood called her Grandma (well, Grandma Gerry).

As you would assume, Grandma Gerry, a woman who grew up in Brooklyn during the depression, prepared a large portion of our meals.  I fondly remember many of the dishes that came out of her hands, but the one that remains with me most today is the simple dish of pasta and peas, something she called peasant food, which I now call comfort food. 

Years after Grandma Gerry started experiencing senility and stopped caring for my brother and I, my mom adopted this dish as one of her own.  After all, Grandma Gerry still lived next door and we still ate dinner with her, her daughter and her two grand-daughters on a regular basis. Their cooking remained a big part of our lives.  Pasta and peas was something my mom and I would turn to on nights when no big cooking was to be done, and usually when my brother was not around as his teenage self scoffed at meatless meals.  

Pasta and peas was probably one of the first dishes that I began to make by myself on nights my mom would be returning home late from law school.  That was back in 7th or 8th grade.  And now more than 15 years later, it's a dish I probably cook once or twice a month.  A dish I always have the ingredients for on hand.  A dish I've cooked for numerous boyfriends (one from Italy whose mother made her pasta and peas more as a soup, in vegetable broth - I had her version, and I much prefer my own) and vegetarian friends.  A dish that is all comfort food as far as I'm concerned.  

Here is my recipe, if you can even call these simple directions a recipe: 

Pasta and Peas

Ingredients:

olive oil

garlic, minced

medium to large yellow onion, chopped

kosher salt

fresh cracked pepper

frozen petite peas

pasta - bow-ties or ditalini

Method:

In a large saute pan, heat olive oil over medium heat.  In the meantime, begin to boil water for pasta in separate pot.  Toss garlic into heated oil and brown for 3-4 minutes.  (As I've said before, I lower the temp at this point to be sure not to burn the garlic - nothing worse than burnt garlic!)  Add in the chopped onion and saute until translucent, about 7-8 minutes.  Salt generously, add cracked pepper as you like.  Throw in the frozen peas, toss and saute.  Once peas are no longer frozen, reduce heat to low and continue to cook as pasta boils.  Taste pea mixture to determine if additional salt and pepper is needed.  

Once pasta is cooked to al dente, add to saute pan and mix with peas and onions.  Additional olive oil may be needed at this point - depends on how you like it.

Easy pea-sy, that's all there is to it! Some people may top with grated cheese.  I don't, but feel free.  And enjoy!