pasta with peas and ham

Light Pasta with ‘Cream’, Peas and Ham

Serves 6.  This is one of our favorite kinds of pasta, but it is usually made with lots of cream and butter.  This version is only 390 calories per serving.  We were all out of fettuccine the day we made it so linguine worked just fine. 

            12 oz. fettuccine                                   4 oz. chopped Canadian bacon

            2 c. peas (fresh or defrosted)                1 c. half-and-half

            1 shallot, chopped                                ¾ c. grated Romano cheese

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, adding peas to water for last 5 minutes.  Drain, reserving some of the pasta cooking water.

Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, sauté shallot with Canadian bacon for 5 minutes over medium heat.  Add the drained pasta and peas, and half-and-half; heat 2 minutes until sauce clings to pasta.  If it is too thick, add some of the reserved pasta cooking water.  Toss with cheese and serve.