I would like you to meet this delicious simple pasta – perfect for a mid-week dinner. It’s fresh, herby, luxurious, sweet and creamy all at the same time and can be ready in a little over 30 minutes. The conchiglie pasta shells are perfect because when mixed with the sauce they get coated but also kind of filled with it – it also work wells with fusilli and penne for similar reasons!
It has however been anything BUT simple to perfect – I honestly nearly threw in the towel with this one several times! Since its beginnings as an idea from Kieran for a sauce or dressing to put over new potatoes, this recipe has been through umpteen revamps, remakes and tantrums to become simply…..herby pea and feta pasta.
Peas are without a doubt one of the most mundane vegetables but I think this shows that with a pinch of inspiration, not too much effort and some fresh herbs they can also be transformed into something that’s actually really gorgeous. If you find it lacking in a bit of protein, we’ve found that a chicken breast – simply seasoned with some salt and pepper, cooked while you are making the sauce in a griddle pan and then sliced up –goes well. If you feel like indulging a bit it also goes very well with some garlic bread or why not try with my Herb and cheese topped focaccia!
That old saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is definitely something I should’ve paid attention too. After going through a cycle of additions including prosciutto, ham, Parmesan and some failed attempts at turning it into a pasta bake we just decided that actually the original version was better! And that’s why “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”!
I have to admit that despite all the remakes (and tantrums) I’m still slightly in love with this simple but ingenious sauce. We’ve had it… I don’t even know how many times over the last month or so whilst refining the recipe but I’m still more than happy to eat it again (and again and again)!
So please do let me know what you thought via the comments or using the Contact Me form. I would love to hear from you! Enjoy DDx.
Print
Herby Pea and Feta Pasta
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
Description
A fresh, herby but sweet and creamy pasta with peas and fresh herbs as the stars!
Ingredients
- 100 ml olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 140 g frozen peas
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary, spiky leaves stripped from the stem
- 1 handful fresh parsley
- 3 sprigs of thyme, leaves stripped
- 50 g salted butter
- 75 g feta, roughly chopped up
- 220 g conchiglie pasta
Instructions
- Put the pasta in a pan of cold, lightly salted water and leave to cook while you make the sauce.
- Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a low heat.
- Put the onion, garlic, parsley and thyme and rosemary leaves in the food processor and blitz. When finely chopped, tip into the heated oil.
- Cook gently for 10 minutes to allow the herbs to infuse the oil, then add the butter and allow to melt.
- Add the peas. Mix well and cook gently until the peas are starting to “pop”.
- Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool off slightly.
- Transfer back to the food processor. Crumble in the feta, season with salt and pepper and blitz until smooth-ish, light green and creamy.
- Stir through the cooked drained pasta.
Notes
- Delicious served with some griddled sliced chicken.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
Nutrition
- Serving Size: Per serving
- Calories: 1092.37kcal
