Pasta with peas

This isn't a pretty dish, but it reminds me of being a kid. I'm 1/4 Sicilian my father is half his father 100% . My father's father passed away when my dad was a very young boy, because of that my predominantly Prussian and French grandmother never got into the habit of making his families dishes but this is one of the ones that stuck around.

Simple, affordable and filling a widowed mother of 4 working 3 jobs this was a staple.  My grandma was an amazing cook food rarely came out of a can unless it was one she put up from her garden herself. This was an exception, apparently shelling and canning a million little peas wasn't her thing.  I don't blame her, I wouldn't want to do it either. 

My partner will not eat this, but the girls and I love it. I'm going to attempt to make this with frozen peas as well as oil free. I'm going to half the batch and I'll update later on if it works.

Pasta with Peas

What you'll need:
1 large potato peeled and diced between a 1/4 & 1/2 inch ( yukon gold or kennibic if you can)
1/2 - 1 small-medium onion  sliced into thin strips
1/2Tbsp(1 and 1/2 tsp) oil
1, 15oz can or reduced or no sodium peas undrained
1 cup elbow macaroni(or other small pasta, shells, ditilini etc)
1 cup water
salt and pepper to taste
simple smooth pasta sauce(optional)

Add onions, potato and oil into  sauce pan and on med heat cook until potatoes and onions start browning be careful not to burn ( about ten min). Add a splash of water or broth as needed to unstick from the pan.

Add peas and their juices bring to simmer for 5minutes, add water and bring to boil, Add your pasta and reduce to a steady simmer. You can add salt and pepper now if you want I like to  wait till the end personally.

 You may need to add a touch more water  so that everything is just barely submerged. Cooking length depends on the pasta for my elbows it was 9-11 min you want cook to just shy of done so I cooked for 9 minutes on the low simmer when the timer goes off give a stir turn heat to high cover for about 30 seconds turn off the heat and let it finish cooking on its own. I usually let it go 5-10 min  while I'm tossing a side salad, washing some fruit for dessert  pouring drinks etc.

Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. We had fresh dug yukon golds and I didn't need to add anything but if its lacking add pasta sauce a couple spoonfuls at a time until it suits your tastes and add some Almond Parmesan (this is the first and only recipe we have tried use whatever one you want) or store bought alternative "Parmesan".  We didn't use any this last time, we keep it simple on occasion.