Creamy Pasta with Peas

Voorbereiding

This bright green pasta takes its cues from the classic combination of peas and mint. Blanching the peas and mint (bonus points for doing it in the same pot as the pasta) keeps the creamy sauce vibrantly verdant while a generous scoop of crème fraiche adds richness. This recipe is vegetarian friendly, but you can change it up by hand-tearing slices of prosciutto over the finished pasta.

*This recipe originally ran stateside on HexClad.com.

1. Bring a HexClad 8QT/7.5 L Hybrid Stock Pot of salted water to a boil. Fill a large bowl with ice water; set aside. 
2. Add peas to the boiling water and cook until just thawed and still bright green, about 1 minute. Add mint leaves (they should immediately wilt) then use a fine-mesh strainer to fish out the peas and mint and add to the ice bath. 
3. Allow the water to come back to a full boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente, according to box directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup/240 ml pasta water.
4. Meanwhile, in a HexClad 4.5QT/4.3 L Hybrid Deep Sauté Pan, warm 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and all but 2 tablespoons of the scallions, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.
5. Drain chilled peas and mint, setting aside a scant cup, then put the remaining peas and mint into a blender along with the garlic and scallions (reserve the pan), crème fraiche, ½ cup/120 ml pasta water (scoop it directly from the pot the pasta is cooking in), a big pinch of salt, and several grinds of black pepper. Blend until very smooth. Remove the cap from the lid of the blender and stream in the remaining olive oil while blending. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Pour the sauce back into the reserved pan and warm over medium heat until the sauce is hot and lightly bubbling, about 3 minutes. Add the pasta and the reserved whole peas to the sauce and stir to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is al dente, adding more pasta water if it seems dry, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper then transfer to serving bowls and drizzle the pasta with lemon juice and more olive oil. Sprinkle with lemon zest, reserved sliced scallion greens, torn mint leaves, pistachios, and a little more black pepper.