Pasta with Peas, Sausage, and Mint

Today I made five different stocks in class today, which included veal stock, beef stock, fish fumet stock, chicken stock and vegetable stock. Today was 90 degrees in New York which made for a very hot kitchen with all the pots and pans simmering away. Imagine that! But I am learning so much each day and that’s all that matters.

My school has library with several cookbooks so I will often go there after class and look up fun recipes to try at home. I only have 6 months at the French Culinary Institute so I might as well milk it while I can. I have copied some recipes I want to try out of the cookbooks (Beats buying a cookbook). Anytime I see a recipe with mint, it excites me because I have a mint plant growing on my balcony. I guess I will have to cook many more recipes with mint, but that's okay because I LOVE fresh mint. I only have a mint and basil plant, but I feel like such a gardener because I water it first thing every morning and have already had to use my tweezers (the same ones I use to tweeze my eyebrows mind you) to pick off these worms that were eating my mint leaves. I was happy to kill those buggers with my tweezers. I’m going to tell you about the very first recipe I got to try, it’s very light and refreshing, which is perfect for this summer heat. This is so delicious, peas and mint make such a great combination!

Pasta with Peas, Sausage, and Mint

-1 TB olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
-1 garlic clove, minced
-4 cups frozen green peas
-zest and juice of a lemon
-3/4 cup chicken stock
-1 cup chopped fresh mint
-1 pound linguine (I used whole wheat pasta)
-1 cup very thinly sliced chicken sausage (I used the roasted garlic flavored chicken sausage)
-1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until softened about 3-4 minutes. Add 3 cups of peas to the mixture. Zest the lemon and add the zest and lemon juice to the mixture. Cook for about 10 minutes.

Add the chicken stock to the pea mixture. Transfer the mixture to a blender and puree (add a bit more chicken stock if needed). Add the mint and puree. Return the puree to the saucepan and keep warm over low hear. Add the remaining 1 cup of peas.

Add the pasta and cook until al dente. In a separate saucepan, sauté the sausage until golden brown. Mix together the pasta, sausage, and sauce in a large serving bowl. Top with the cheese. Bon apetit!

Here is a pic I snapped of my roomie serving herself!