A Taste of Utica Pasta with Peas (white sauce)

*A family favorite and  very easy to make. Poste by Maria LaMonte.  Page 130 of our book

Sunday dinner was at 1:00 The meal went like this….

Table is set with everyday dishes…doesn’t matter if they don’t match, they’re clean.  What more do want?  All the utensils go on the right side of the plate and the napkin goes on the left.  Put a clean kitchen towel at Nonno & Papa’s plate because they won’t use napkins.  Homemade wine and bottles of 7up are on the table.  First course:  Antipasto…change plates.  Next, Macaroni (Nonna called all spaghetti Macaroni)…change plates.  After that, roasted meats, roasted potatoes, oven cooked vegetables… change plates.  THEN and only then (NEVER AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MEAL) would you eat the salad (HOMEMADE OIL & VINEGAR DRESSING ONLY)…change plates.  Next, fruit & nuts – in the shell (on paper plates because you ran out of the other ones).  Coffee with Anisette (Espresso for Nonno.  “Merican” coffee for the rest) with hard Cookies (Biscotti’s) to dip in the coffee.  The kids go play… the men go to lay down.  They slept so soundly you could perform brain surgery on them without anesthesia…the women clean the kitchen.

Pasta with Peas (white sauce)

• 1/2 lb bacon (American type bacon, not Italian) *If you don’t eat meat, use Vegetarian bacon substitute from MorningStar
• 1 package frozen peas, defrosted
• 1/2 lb ricotta, at room temperature
• 2 TBS butter, at room temperature
• 1 lb medium pasta shells
• grated cheese
• pepper

Cut the bacon into small pieces and saute until cooked but do not let brown.  Add the peas and cook together a couple of minutes, set aside.  Put butter and ricotta in a large bowl.  Cook pasta per package directions; when done, quickly add to the ricotta.  Add bacon and peas, toss to mix.

If the sauce seems too dry, add a little pasta cooking water to loosen it.  Season with grated cheese and pepper.

And now a view from the “soy side of town”…

So easy. So basic. Soooo good!