Lemon Pasta with Green Peas

My friends and I went strawberry picking last weekend. Though let's be honest: I bugged them to go strawberry picking with me until they relented.





A group effort led to strawberry shortcakes with vanilla bean whipped cream, though my mission of picking pounds and pounds of strawberries was to make preserves. After years of failed attempts, I am determined to get into canning this year, time be damned.

(I do hate American measurements though - the recipe I used said it made four half-pint jars, which I assumed meant four 500 ml jars. As you can see in my photographic evidence, I was very wrong. I can't believe all my efforts only led to two barely-full jars of preserves.)



The farm we went to wasn't the greatest for strawberry picking, but they had pick-your-own peas (snow peas, snap peas and green peas!) as well potatoes and beets. The amount of fresh produce was overwhelming and I had to restrain myself from picking too much.



I've read about shelling peas before but have never done it myself and oh man, the green peas were insanely delicious just as is. I ate several hand fulls before cooking the rest with some pasta. I think I need to revisit the farm some time really soon for more peas.

Lemon Pasta with Green Peas
Adapted from Cube Marketplace

The original recipe calls for pecorino cheese but I never have that on hand so I used parmesan instead. I really need to buy some pecorino.

300 g spaghetti
1/4 cup reserved pasta cooking liquid
1/2 stick (4 tbsp or 60 ml) unsalted butter
Juice of one lemon, or more depending on how lemony you like it
2 cups freshly shelled green peas
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan, more to top it off
Freshly cracked pepper and sea salt, to taste

Salt and boil water; add pasta. Add the peas half way through the cooking process of the pasta. Drain both just before the pasta is done.

In the same pot (because who likes washing multiple pots?), melt butter and add lemon juice. Add pasta, peas and reserved cooking liquid to butter/lemon mixture. Stir in parmesan until a creamy sauce develops and pasta becomes al dente. Season with salt and pepper and top off with more parmesan.