My Family's White Pasta!

 One of the first recipes I learnt to cook from Nonna, was White Pasta. This the name I know it by, I make a similar dish that I call White Rissot, not Rissotto, drop the o. That's how I remember hearing the word. Anyway, that's another recipe..

White Pasta?

This is a very simple, quick & tasty meal. I use fresh ingredients, (not the cheap garlic) fresh rosemary, from the garden. In Ayr Nonna & Nonno  had hedges of rosemary growing, the soil was sandy, which allows good drainage. With the additions of onions & butter, to fry these ingredients until golden brown.

Ingredients: 

                     4 cloves of good quality garlic

                     1 stem of fresh rosemary

                     1 large onion

                      butter

                      1/2 cup of  frozen peas ( I have used dried peas)

                      400gr  pasta

                      salt & pepper

                      parmesan cheese, (Romano cheese is great for more flavour)

                      extra ingredients I've added are mushroom & bacon.

Boiling the pasta& frying the onion, garlic,
 rosemary in butter +  more

 Method of Preparation.

1. Chop or crush garlic, dice onion, break off leaves of the rosemary.
2. In a large saucepan, boil water &add a teaspoon of salt. Add pasta to the boiling water, stirring until it stays separated. If using dried peas add to the pot when you add the pasta or the frozen peas can be added 5 minutes into boiling. Once the water is boiling furiously, I put on the lid & turn the stove down so the water simmers.
3. Heat a frying pan & add a good dollop of Butter, add the onion, garlic & rosemary.
4. When the onions change colour, add bacon, brown, stirring to keep ingredients from burning, you can lower the temp to allow flavours to blend & cook through. Add mushrooms & finish cooking.
5. At this stage I add a little more butter, some salt & cracked pepper to help spread flavours mix through the pasta.
6. Drain Pasta, return the pasta to saucepan,
7. Add the ingredients in the fry pan to pasta.
8. Add the Parmesan Cheese & mix through the pasta.

This recipe is easily adapted to individual tastes, you can add extra garlic & cheese. My family love this dish. My pantry usually holds all these ingredients, so I find if It doesn't seem like I have anything in the fridge, which is the kids favourite catch phrase, I can whip this up quickly.