A simple delicacy

I had gone to an Italian restaurant in Queens a few weeks ago with my family. My eldest brother and I shared a monstrous 62-ounce steak with sides of polenta and creamed spinach. It was a classic dish that I thoroughly enjoyed, but there was something else that caught my attention: a dish across the table. My other brother was twirling fettuccini around his fork and it looked incredibly appetizing. It was a dish called fettuccine with peas and prosciutto, a common staple of Italian cuisine, or so I’ve read. Staring over at this creamy, gooey, meaty and aesthetically pleasing dish, I knew I had to make it myself.

After doing some research, I understood that it was a rather easy dish to make, but if done right, could be one of the most pleasant and comforting meals. I found about 5 different recipes of how to make it and confounded my own general ingredients list.
 

The list of ingredients I used is: garlic, frozen green peas, shallot, lemon, basil, butter, parmesan cheese, heavy cream, tomato paste, olive oil, salt, pepper, fettuccine, and prosciutto. 

This was the first time I would ever use tomato paste, heavy cream, or shallots in a dish, and so I was quite excited to try it out. 

Wondering what a shallot is and what it’s used for? I was too. A shallot is similar to an onion but is a bit sweeter. A tad different, however, is that when cooked, a shallot tends to dissolve into the dish, whereas an onion will keep its solid form. So, you’d use a shallot when you don’t want any extra texture in your meal but do want the flavor of an onion.

Now, to get into cooking, start out by preparing. Chop up 1 shallot, 2 garlic cloves, 1 lemon, and about 8 slices of prosciutto.

Before anything else, take out a pot, fill it with salted water and wait for it to boil, and then put in your fettuccine. Since it takes about 10 minutes to cook the pasta, the two components of your dish should be completed at the same time.

Heat up a pan with adequate butter and olive oil, and then throw in your garlic. Not too long after, add in the chopped shallot. When the shallot begins to thin out, add in frozen peas (amount is your decision). Frozen peas take about 4 minutes to cook. About 30 seconds after you’ve added your peas, put in the prosciutto. When you’re done cooking, you want the prosciutto to be tender and juicy, not crispy and overcooked. Next, simultaneously put in ¾ cup of heavy cream and 2 tbsp. of tomato paste. Make sure to mix it all around, and drizzle some lemon juice for a nice punch of flavor. Finally, drop in some parmesan cheese to combine the liquids and bring together all of the flavors. You should have a nice thick sauce with well-prepared peas and prosciutto.

Pour your drained fettuccine onto the sauce to combine the two components, mix it around, throw in some salt and pepper, and you’re done.

What you should have plated is a deliciously creamy dish packed with salty prosciutto and delicate green peas. Rip up some basil and throw it atop, too.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Goodnight.