This easy recipe for Peas with Prosciutto + Ricotta is the perfect side dish for spring! Sweet, tender peas sautéed with salty prosciutto, served over creamy, lemony whipped ricotta cheese and finished with fresh mint. It’s a great recipe for Easter, Mother’s Day or any springtime occasion!
As soon as the calendar turns to April, I immediately become consumed with the idea of eating fresh spring vegetables. The only problem is that most of them don’t actually come into season here until May. You might be able to squeak out a few radishes before then, but chances are you’ll have to wait for the good stuff like asparagus, rhubarb and fresh peas.
Fortunately, frozen peas can be just as tasty as the fresh kind and actually, sometimes even better. They’re always picked and processed at their peak, which means they’re guaranteed to be tender and sweet. Plus, they don’t require the tedious work of shucking and blanching, all you need to do is pull them out of the freezer and let them defrost on the counter for a bit. I’ve found that the ones labeled “petite peas” are the sweetest, but the regular guys will do just fine.
Peas with prosciutto is a classic Italian recipe. I’ve taken it one step further by serving them over a bed of fluffy ricotta that’s been whipped up with a pinch of lemon zest. The sweet peas and salty prosciutto are such a knockout pair on their own, but when you add that creamy, lemony ricotta into the mix they’re taken to a whole other level.
You can absolutely make this recipe with frozen peas alone, in fact, that’s what I did the first two times I made it. The third time, I had some sugar snap peas in the fridge leftover from another recipe I’ve been working on (unsuccessfully I might add), so I thought why not throw them in? If nothing else, they’ll add a fun visual element, but then I wound up liking the dish even more. The snap peas add a crunchy – snappy! – texture that just makes it a lot more interesting to eat.
We’ve now reached the point in the post where I put on my best chambray button-down and poorly attempt an an Ina Garten impression to tell you about how important it is to use *good* ingredients in this recipe. But it really IS important to use *good* prosciutto, *good* olive oil and *good* ricotta in order for these peas to be as *good* great as they possibly can be.
Cheap prosciutto is overly salty and lacks the complexity of the really good stuff. Try to find Parma, San Daniele, or the American made La Quercia. When looking for a good bottle of extra virgin olive oil, the country of origin doesn’t matter, but freshness does. Look for a date on the bottle – the fresher the better. No date? It’s probably no good (sorry). As for ricotta, I recommend making your own if you can – it’s actually way easier than you think. Otherwise, I like the Maggio brand.
I made this recipe three times in the past week trying to get it (and the photos) just right. By the third time we needed a change, so I tossed it all together with pasta and it was so good I almost considered rewriting the entire recipe. That would have been silly, but if this sounds more appealing to you as a pasta dish I’m here to tell you it’s a fantastic idea.
Either way, you can toss the leftovers with pasta in order to reinvent them the next day. That is if there are any leftovers. Chances are there won’t be.
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This easy recipe for Peas with Prosciutto + Ricotta is the perfect side dish for spring! Sweet, tender peas sautéed with salty prosciutto, served over creamy, lemony whipped ricotta cheese and finished with fresh mint. It’s a great recipe for Easter, Mother’s Day or any springtime occasion!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/2 lb frozen peas, defrosted (use “petite” peas if you can find them)
- 1/2 lb sugar snap peas, halved*
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
Instructions
- Pour olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the prosciutto and stir to break it apart for about 1 minute, then add the garlic and shallots.
- Season lightly with salt and pepper, then cook until the shallots are translucent, but not browned, about 3 minutes.
- Add the defrosted peas and sugar snap peas, then cook while stirring and tossing constantly until softened, about 5 minutes.
- If the pan seems a bit dry, add a few tablespoons of water to help things along. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
- While the peas cook, add the ricotta and lemon zest to a medium bowl, then use a whisk to whip it up until light and fluffy.
- Spread the ricotta onto a serving platter or bowl, then spoon the peas over top. Sprinkle with fresh mint, then drizzle with plenty of extra virgin olive oil. Serve immediately.
Notes
*If desired, you can omit the sugar snap peas and use 1 whole pound of frozen peas instead.
Keywords: Italian, side, spring, easy, peas, prosciutto, ricotta, Easter, holidays
Nicole Gaffney, aka Coley, is a professionally trained chef, recipe developer, tv host and food writer.
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