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Creamy Ham & Pea Pasta
[Pasta Panna, Piselli e Prosciutto]

Creamy Ham & Pea Pasta [Pasta Panna, Piselli e Prosciutto]

By Denis Elas The Chef
Print Recipe

Video

A blue and white patterned bowl filled with creamy penne pasta, peas, and ham, topped with golden toasted breadcrumbs and fresh parsley, set against a wooden background.
Creamy Ham & Pea Pasta is a quick and comforting dinner with crispy, garlicky breadcrumbs to give you the perfect textural crunch against the rich, velvety sauce.

Dedicated to my parents

Svetlana and Oleg ❤️

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Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Italian
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 25 minutes

Equipments

Sauce pan
Frying pan
Wooden Cutting Board
Wooden cutting board
High-quality cooking knives
Wooden spoon
Measuring Tools
Measuring tools
Mixing bowl

Ingredients

The Garlicky Breadcrumbs

The Pasta

  • 300 g Penne Rigate pasta or any short pasta

The Sauce & Add-ins

  • 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion finely diced
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 60 ml dry white wine (Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio)
  • 200 g ham diced
  • 200 g frozen peas
  • 250 g cream cheese at room temperature
  • 50 g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese freshly grated
  • 120 ml pasta water reserved from boiling

The Seasoning

4 servings

Cook Mode

To prevent your phone from sleeping (screen turning off)

Instructions
 

The Preparation

  1. Gather the ingredients. Finely chop 3 Tbsp. fresh parsley. Finely dice 1 yellow onion.
    Finely chopped white onions and fresh green parsley separated into two piles on a wooden chevron-patterned cutting board.
  2. Remove the skin and then dice the 200 g ham in small cubes.
    A person finely dicing ham on a wooden chevron-patterned cutting board, with small bowls of chopped onions and herbs nearby.
  3. Bring a large sauce pan of salted water to a boil. Cook the 300 g Penne Rigate pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Before draining, carefully reserve 120 ml pasta water.
    A stainless steel pot of water boiling vigorously on a stovetop with a wooden spoon resting across the top to prevent overboiling.

The Breadcrumbs

  1. In a large frying pan, melt the 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter over medium heat. Add the 30 g breadcrumbs and 1/2 tsp garlic powder. Toast, stirring frequently, for about 3-4 minutes until golden brown and fragrant.
    Toasted breadcrumbs or seasonings spread across the bottom of a red Dutch oven, ready for the next step of the recipe.
  2. Transfer the toasted breadcrumbs to a small bowl, immediately toss them with the finely chopped 3 Tbsp. fresh parsley, and wipe the pan clean.
    A person pouring a mixture of fresh chopped parsley and seasonings from a small metal bowl into a red Dutch oven.

The Cooking

  1. In the same frying pan, heat the 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add the diced 1 yellow onion and sauté until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the minced 2 garlic cloves and 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
    Close-up of chopped onions being stirred with a wooden spatula in a red Dutch oven to soften them over a stovetop burner.
  2. Pour in the 60 ml dry white wine (Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio) to deglaze the pan, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom. Let it simmer for 1-2 minutes until the liquid has mostly evaporated.
    A person using a wooden spoon to sauté translucent diced onions in a red Dutch oven, with a pot of boiling water visible in the background.
  3. Stir in the diced 200 g ham and 200 g frozen peas. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the peas are heated through and the ham is slightly browned.
    Diced ham and green peas sautéing with onions in a red Dutch oven, next to a stainless steel pot of boiling water on a glass stovetop.
  4. Lower the heat to low-medium. Add the 250 g cream cheese and the reserved 120 ml pasta water to the pan. Stir continuously with a wooden spoon until the cream cheese melts into a smooth, luxurious sauce.
    A top-down view of a red Dutch oven containing a simmering creamy white sauce mixed with bright green peas and small cubes of pink ham.
  5. Add the drained pasta and the freshly grated 50 g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese into the frying pan. Season with 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper. Toss everything together gently until the pasta is beautifully coated in the sauce.
    A large red Dutch oven on a black stovetop filled with penne pasta coated in a creamy white sauce with green peas and diced ham, being stirred with a wooden spatula.

The Serving

  1. Divide your Creamy Ham & Pea Pasta [Pasta Panna, Piselli e Prosciutto] into bowls while hot and creamy. Generously top each bowl with the toasted garlic-parsley breadcrumbs right before serving to maintain their crunch.
    A blue and white patterned bowl filled with creamy penne pasta, peas, and ham, topped with golden toasted breadcrumbs and fresh parsley, set against a wooden background.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 serving | Calories: 670 kcal (34%) | Carbohydrates: 65 g (22%) | Protein: 25 g (50%) | Fat: 36 g (55%) | Sodium: 820 mg (36%) | Fiber: 5 g (21%) | Sugar: 6 g (7%)

Elasdenis.com is written and produced for informational purposes only. While I do my best to provide nutritional information as a general guideline to our readers, I am not a certified nutritionists, and the values provided should be considered estimates. Factors such as brands purchased, natural variations in fresh ingredients, etc. will change the nutritional information in any recipe. Various online calculators also provide different results, depending on their sources. To obtain accurate nutritional information for a recipe, use your preferred nutrition calculator to determine nutritional information with the actual ingredients and quantities used.

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