Ham & Pea Asparagus Pasta
I asked a few mom friends recently what kind of recipes they wanted more ideas for and every single one of them said “dinner that can be on the table fast!” This pasta is a great, quick springtime meal that my family loved. It’s easy to deconstruct if you have a picky toddler that wont touch the asparagus or doesn’t want any of their food touching in general. My oldest loved everything about this meal (except she didn’t want fresh dill mixed into her pasta) and my youngest spit out her asparagus and then picked the rest of the asparagus out and put it on the floor for the dog. She loved her ham, peas and the noodles. Good enough!
Here is what’s great about pasta. Most of the children I know love pasta. There are so many great pastas out there these days. High protein bean pasta, rice pasta, grain free pasta, sprouted wheat pasta, you name it! I think pasta can be a great gateway into getting your kid to try more veggies and meat if done correctly. I think the biggest mistake is falling into the trap of serving “plain pasta” only. Even if your kid picks out the veggies and meat I think there is something really important about exposure. I wholeheartedly believe that being a member of the family means eating with the family and that also means eating what the family eats. Sure there are a few times when we’ll bend this rule depending on the meal (spicy, over-the-top, or not age appropriate).But for the most part we stick to this and that has saved my sanity when it comes to avoiding the trap of cooking separate “kid” meals.
Okay, back to this pasta. This meal is QUICK! It’s really tasty and jam packed with protein, fat and fiber to keep blood sugar stable and is very satiating.
I hope you and your family love this easy meal as much as we do!
Ham & Pea Asparagus Pasta
PREP TIME: 10 minutes COOK TIME: 20 minutes SERVES: 6
10 ounces pasta of choice
3 tablespoons unsalted butter (divided)
3 leeks, thinly sliced (white and pale green parts only)
10 ounces fresh or frozen shelling peas
1 small bunch of asparagus, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 pound ham steak, roughly chopped
1/2 cup chicken stock (can sub water)
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Chopped fresh dill for serving (optional)
Preparation
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and return to the pot and toss with 1 tablespoon of the butter to prevent sticking.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the remaining butter over medium high heat. Add the leeks and cook until golden, about 4 minutes. Add the peas, asparagus and ham and cook until the peas and asparagus are bright green and the ham is lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the stock and crank the heat up and cook, stirring occasionally until it's reduce by about half, about 1 minute. Stir in the cream, reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring often until slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes.
Add the pasta to the pot, sprinkle with the parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with dill if desired.
