This sauce for pasta based on a rich pea cream is one of the Dutchman’s favorite dishes and is one of his signature recipes in the kitchen. The problem is that he normally uses butter, oil, cream: all ingredients that aren’t ideal when you’re on a diet.
So I was faced with a challenge: recreate this dish in a light version. From some old Weight Watchers recipes I found the inspiration to make the pasta creamy even without cream. I then eliminated added fats and reduced the amount of pancetta: in the end you need only a little to give a lot of flavor.
I must say I was more than satisfied and so was he, the Dutchman, who asked me to make this pasta with pea cream again as soon as possible. Let’s make it together!
You can find some other creamy first-course pasta dishes here:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 4 People
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter and Spring
Ingredients
- 11 oz pasta (gnocchetti or another shape)
- 14 oz mushrooms
- 1 tbsp dried porcini mushrooms
- 2 oz lean pancetta
- 2 cups cooked peas
- 3.5 oz light cream cheese (type Philadelphia)
- 1 onion
- 4 tbsp grated Parmesan
- to taste basil
- to taste salt and pepper
- Points per serving = 12 WW points
Tools
- Hand Blender
- Pan
Preparation
First of all, prepare all the ingredients.
Put the dried porcini in a small bowl with a bit of hot water to rehydrate them. Wash the mushrooms, dry them thoroughly with kitchen paper and slice them.
Cut the onion in half and then into thin slices.
I also added a vegetable, snow peas, which I cleaned and boiled for a few minutes in salted water, then drained and kept warm.
Put about half of the peas in a bowl and mash them well with a fork or with a hand blender.
Add the spreadable cheese and mix well. This pea-and-cheese cream will replace the cream used in the traditional recipe.
In a pan, brown the pancetta over medium heat, stirring continuously. As soon as it starts to color, add the onion and let it soften. If it becomes too dry, deglaze with a tablespoon or two of the porcini soaking water.
When the onion and pancetta are cooked, add the well-drained porcini cut into small pieces and let them dry in the pan for a minute. Add the mushrooms and sauté them, adding more porcini soaking water if things dry out too much.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta. When the mushrooms are cooked add the rest of the peas and let them absorb the flavors for a few minutes. Pour in the pea-and-cheese cream prepared earlier, add some of the basil and mix well.
A few more minutes to let the flavors combine and the sauce is done: as soon as the pasta is ready, drain it and add it to the sauce.
Mix well and our gnocchetti with pea cream are ready. Plate and garnish with fresh basil, a sprinkle of Parmesan and pepper.
Adding vegetables is always essential to make the meal complete, which is why I chose snow peas that, in my opinion, pair well with peas.
As you have seen, pasta with pea cream is very easy to prepare even in a light version.
I think it’s also a dish that looks great served on Sunday for our special guests, especially in the autumn period when it’s possible to find more prized varieties of mushrooms.
I look forward to your feedback in the comments below or on Facebook.
Enjoy your meal!
by Giovanna Buono
