Italian

Easy Spring Pasta Recipe: Fettuccine with Peas, Leeks & Thyme

by liz · Mar 5, 2019

Fresh pasta with local, organic spring peas, leeks and thyme for an easy, impressive dinner.

Spring has sprung in California – as well as most of the country. To me that means spring vegetable season; asparagus, leeks, peas, artichoke, fennel and fresh herbs are bountiful in farmers markets. Much of this produce is available year-round, but spring is the best time to get the freshest spring vegetables, whether at your local market, grocery store or from your own garden!

And those fresh spring flavors really come through in this easy spring pasta recipe, Fettuccine with Peas, Leeks & Thyme. It’s a cinch to make and it’s packed with flavor and nutrients, plus spring is a great time to get hooked on the Mediterranean way of eating. Adding a bit of the pasta water instead of using sauce is a traditional way to make pasta dishes in Italy. This recipe is a sure way to eat more vegetables and wow your friends with your culinary savvy!

Fettuccine with Peas, Leeks & Thyme

Recipe courtesy of Buitoni.

Ingredients for 3 servings:

1 package (9 ounces) Refrigerated Fettuccine
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup sliced fresh leek
1/3 cup frozen peas
Salt and ground black pepper
2 thyme sprigs, leaves removed and stems discarded
1/4 cup (1 ounce) freshly shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

PREPARE pasta according to package directions, reserving ½ cup cooking water. While pasta is cooking, prepare leek mixture.

HEAT oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add leek; cook, stirring frequently, until softened and golden. Stir in peas; cook for 1 minute or until heated through. Season with salt and pepper, as shown above.

ADD reserved pasta cooking water, thyme leaves and cheese; stir in gently. Toss pasta with leek mixture. Season with salt and pepper.

Wine Pairing

Italian wines can be hard to find, other than the super popular Pinot Grigio. If you can find a Soave wine, it’s a soft, fruity, clean wine with crisp lemon flavors and really complements this dish.
Grenache Blanc with its acidity and rounded flavors, or Sauvignon Blanc with its herbaceousness, would also be great wines with this pasta.

Fettuccine with Peas, Leeks & Thyme

Author: Buitoni

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: Italian

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 5 mins

Total time: 20 mins

Serves: 2

Ingredients

1 package Refrigerated Fettuccine (9 oz.)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ cup sliced fresh leek
⅓ cup frozen peas
Salt and ground black pepper
2 thyme sprigs
¼ cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese (5 oz.)

Instructions

PREPARE pasta according to package directions, reserving ½ cup cooking water. While pasta is cooking, prepare leek mixture.
HEAT oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add leek; cook, stirring frequently, until softened and golden. Stir in peas; cook for 1 minute or until heated through. Season with salt and pepper.
ADD reserved pasta cooking water, thyme leaves and cheese; stir in gently. Toss pasta with leek mixture. Season with salt and pepper.

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Pesto Pairs Perfectly with Italian White Wine

by liz · Sep 30, 2012

September 30 is the last day of California Wine Month so I thought I’d pair one of my favorite Italian sauces with some California white wines made from Italian varietals. And I added a twist to the pesto that I learned from Luce, on a recent trip to Portland.

The Food:

Luce is a very small market and restaurant dedicated to simple Italian cooking in Portland Oregon. Every dish on the menu was so simply made that at first glance, it seems too easy, too sophomoric. But after a bite or two, the flavors this kind of cooking imparts transports you to the traditions of Italy. Bon Appetit called it “bare bones…Italian home cooking at its core.”

The pesto at Luce was made with basil, avocado, almonds, walnuts and garlic. This is pesto in Southern Italy. And it was incredible! The avocado replaces the olive oil, making the dish lighter, full of flavor and oh-so-good for your skin. To make this easy on me to make at home, I used store-bought pesto as a base, placing about half the container of pesto in a bowl, then mixing in one whole ripe avocado and serving it over al dente pasta. A perfect late summer meal.

The Wine:

I wanted to pair this with an Italian varietal made in California, and I found 2 wines that worked perfectly. Arneis from Palmina Wines in Lompoc, CA, has a bright lemony quality, and enough acid to zip along your tongue with the pesto, cutting the oils and balancing the meal perfectly.

Another wine, Bianchetto from Moretti Wines in Los Olivos, CA, is a blend of 3 Italian varietals from different regions: Arneis, Malvasia Bianca and Tocai Friulano. You won’t see this blend in Italy, but it’s lovely flowery nose and fruit and acid balance also really enhanced the dish.

Layered Mediterranean Tortellini Salad: the New 7-Layer Salad

by liz · Aug 17, 2010

For those of you who grew up in the south or the mid-west, or “just north of Texas,” your mom probably made 7-Layer Salad, or at least had it in her recipe repertoire. If she didn’t make it at least once, her mom probably did.

This was a very popular salad that swept the American interior in the 1950s – and maybe even made it to the coasts – with its sophisticated layered presentation, flexibility for ingredients you might be cleaning out of your fridge and the plentiful mass of mayonnaise on top. In the south it’s heavy on peas, and it makes a great picnic or pot luck salad.

This Layered Mediterranean Tortellini Salad is a healthier version of this 7-Layer Salad using spinach and whole wheat tortellini and I decided to make it for my mom when she came to town. She fondly remembers the classic 7-Layer Salad from my childhood (as well as a variety of wine punch recipes involving a fancy punch bowl and polyester bell bottoms) and was eager to try this lighter, updated recipe.

I used my new punch bowl/cake stand to showcase the salad and made just a few substitutions: I used a chunk of Italian parmesan cut into wide strips with a vegetable peeler and I replaced the canned olives with a gourmet mix of fresh olives with their pits from the local grocer. I also made my own Greek salad dressing with olive oil, red wine vinegar, dried Italian herbs, salt and pepper (I added a dash of buttermilk to evoke some of the classic taste for my mom).

Layered Mediterranean Tortellini Salad

Ingredients for 12 servings:

1 package (9 ounces) Refrigerated Spinach Cheese Tortellini
1 package (9 ounces) Refrigerated 100% Whole Wheat Three Cheese Tortellini
6 tablespoons bottled light Greek or Italian dressing, divided
2 cups whole cherry or pear tomatoes, cut in half
1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup shredded fresh basil
1 1/2 cups sliced cucumber
1 can (13.75 ounces) artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed and quartered (about 1 1/3 cups)
1 can (6 ounces) pitted whole ripe olives, drained (about 1 1/3 cups)
Ground black pepper
1/2 cup (1.5 ounces) Freshly Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

PREPARE pasta according to package directions; rinse in cold water then drain well. Place spinach tortellini in one bowl and the whole wheat tortellini in another bowl. Add 2 tablespoons salad dressing to each bowl; toss gently to coat.

PLACE tomatoes in large glass serving bowl; drizzle with 1 tablespoon salad dressing. Top with all of spinach tortellini, feta cheese, red onion and basil; drizzle with remaining 1 tablespoon salad dressing. Top with all of the whole wheat tortellini, cucumbers, artichokes and olives. Cover; refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Season with pepper; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese before serving.

It was delicious, light and very satisfying as a summer meal. It was even better the next day after marinating in the dressing overnight. My mom was delighted too. Next, we’re moving on to the punch.