The title is a bit twee but I couldn't resist as it was so obvious. This is the most springlike of pasta dishes that I could come up with, a beautiful dish full of all the colors of green that I missed over the winter, and one that marries hearty pasta with sweet pea flavor. I used rigati because I thought this pasta would make for a proper main course pasta dish in conjunction with the peas rather than the silkiness of homemade pasta, which was my first thought, but which I feared would relegate this dish to appetizer course status.
I also considered pureeing regular green peas with a little sour cream and making a sauce but decided against it as I worried that it might take over the whole dish. I think I did the right thing - this dish is delicate with grassy notes and a definite ode to the promises of spring. You could omit the Parmesan if you are trying to cut calories but my worry there is that the dish would be slightly too sweet; the cheese adds savory notes which I think this needs.
4 servings rigatti pasta or any other sturdy pasta shape (again, I always let people determine their pasta quantities as a serving size in pasta is very subjective)
8 oz pea shoots, washed and cut into 2 inch pieces
8 oz sugar snap peas, washed and cut into thirds lengthwise
1/2 cup garlic chives or regular chives, cut into thirds as well
4 Tbsps butter
1/2 cup gated Parmesan
Salt to taste
Cook the pasta for one minute less than the directions on the package.
While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter over low heat in a large skillet. Add the sugar snap peas and the peas shoots and let cook in the butter for just few minutes. You want the pea shoots to wilt and the sugar snap peas to be tender but still retain a little bite. Salt, add the chives, stir to combine and set aside until the pasta is done.
When the pasta is ready, ladle one ladleful of the pasta water into the pea mixture. Drain the pasta well.
Add the pasta back into the pan it cooked in, Pour in the pea mixture and stir well to combine. Allow to bubble way for the missing minute of cooking time, stirring often to combine the peas and sauce with the pasta.
Remove from the heat and stir in the grated Parmesan. Serve at once.
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