Summer feels like it is finally here, and with summer comes some fabulous new ingredients. In this edition of the newsletter, we are going to focus on one of my favourite vegetables - the humble pea! Yes we can eat frozen peas all year, but they just hit different in summer time.
You’ll get a recipe for a simple pea and pancetta pasta, and a very lovely sugar snap nibble.
Sophie x
P.S. If you haven’t bought my book Tucking In yet, maybe you’d like to do so.
The Recipes
Pea and pancetta pasta
80g pancetta
½ onion
100g frozen garden peas
100g good quality chicken stock
2 tbsp double cream
100g mezze rigatoni
20g parmesan
Salt, pepper and olive oil
Add 1 tbsp olive oil to a medium sized sauté pan over a medium heat. Add your pancetta whilst the pan it is still warming up, and let the pancetta crisp up gently. Cook it for about 5 minutes, until the fat has rendered out, and the pancetta is golden, then lift it out with a slotted spoon and set aside on a plate.
Whilst the pancetta cooks, peel and really finely dice your onion. Tip this into your pancetta fat, and cook it over a medium-low heat for 15 minutes, until the onion has softened and has just started to take on colour.
Bring a large saucepan of water up to a boil, and salt it generously. Add your pasta, and cook it for about 2 minutes less than the packet tells you to.
Tip your frozen peas into the pan, and cook these for 2 minutes. Pour your chicken stock and cream into the pan, then reduce it down for 5 minutes.
Check if your pasta is cooked - it should be al dente - then lift it directly into your pasta pan with a slotted spoon. Add a splash of the pasta cooking water, then give your pasta a really good mix, until the sauce is silky and coats each piece of pasta.
Grate in your parmesan, then add your pancetta back into the pan. Season your sauce to taste with salt and lots of black pepper.
Spoon your pasta into bowls and serve it up.
Charred sugar snaps with anchovy mayo
You know about chip and dip, but what about veg and dip? Okay, the crisps are still going to be present, but serving up a big plate of something fresh and lovely like this for your guests to nibble on whilst you finish cooking is a good thing to add into the mix.
Making mayonnaise is less hard than you might think, and once you have mastered the basics, you have so many ways you can shake it up. Use infused oil, or add herbs and spices. The world is your oyster! Here, I load it up with anchovies, because bright, green sugar snaps I think can benefit from the umami hit.
How to make a great mayonnaise: