I’m feeling like quick and easy is the way to go on hump day, so with that theme in mind, I give you orecchiette with peas and mint, one of the simplest one-pot meals to make. It’s the perfect pasta for this time of year – simple flavors that aren’t to heavy, leaving you with the taste of tangy goat cheese, sweet peas, and fresh mint dancing around in your mouth.

Ready for the instructions? Because this is way too easy to call a recipe…

Bring a pot of water to a boil, and salt liberally. Add 1 cup of orecchiette and set your timer for the amount of time recommended for al dente pasta; I’ve been using 10 minutes. In the meantime, measure out 3/4 cup to 1 cup of frozen peas to add to the water toward the end of the cooking time.

Now, grab the bowl you are going to serve this in. Add around 1/2 to 1 ounce of chevre to the bowl, as well as the leaves from a few sprigs of mint, torn. Get olive oil and black pepper at the ready for when your pasta is mixed in. Like this:

When your pasta has about 1 minute left, add the peas to the water. Of course, the water will cease boiling, so cover it, let it come back to a boil (or close to it). When the peas are warmed through (this may be as the timer is going off, or it may take up to a minute more to get to this point – we’re not in science class here), drain most of the water off of the pasta and pea mixture (you probably want to leave around 1/8 cup of pasta water).

Pour the pasta and peas over the mint and goat cheese you have in the bowl, give it a good dousing of fresh black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil, and mix everything together. Now eat! You’ll have yummy sweet peas in every single bite since the ratio of peas to pasta is 1:1.

Filed under:
Lunch, Quick and Easy, Vegetarian by Courtney