Une Recette

Here is a recipe I made up for lunch on Saturday, using a couple of my market purchases. Although my jeans are now tight, and I've been eating yogurt for dinner ever since, it was nonetheless totally worth it.

Springtime Pea and Artichoke Pasta with Crème Fraîche

*Pasta (I use whole wheat pasta pretty exclusively, but white is also fine)

*A little butter

*Leek

*Fresh English peas

*Artichoke hearts, chopped

*Crème fraîche

*Emmenthal and/or parmesan

*Fresh chives, to garnish

*Optional: a little white wine

1.) Shell the peas first thing. Then add them to a little boiling water and cook until they are tender, about five minutes. Strain. 

1.) Begin boiling your pasta as soon as you are ready to start cooking. The rest won't take long to cook up, so you may as well have the pasta ready to go.  

2.) Cut off the roots and chop the white part of the leek. Throw away the dark green part. 

3.) Heat a little butter in a large pan and sauté the leeks a few minutes. 

4.) With the heat no higher than medium, add the crème fraîche. Stir constantly. Here, if you're using white wine, you can also add it.

5.) Add the peas and artichoke hearts. Let simmer a few minutes. You can also salt the mixture here.

6.) Remove from heat.

7.) In a bowl or on a plate, first put some pasta, then add the vegetable mixture. 

8.) Top with cheese and chives. 

Trust me, it's delicious.

If you can't find crème fraîche (because you live in the States and it just isn't easy to find there, sadly), you could use sour cream in place of it, or else substitute cream. If you substitute cream, you'll have to use a thickener of some sort to get the right consistency. Don't ask me what; I haven't even put the quantities on here, because I assume you are grown-up enough to figure them out for yourself. :)

One little note about the quantities, though: I really didn't know how many peas to buy at market. I just told the vendor, "enough for a dinner for one." I was amazed when she put about four good handfuls' worth of peas in my bag. I soon understood why, though, because while shelling them I found that you only get about 8 peas per pod. Their flavour is so sweet and green, it makes me want to grow peas in my own garden one day. When I finally have one again, that is...