A good friend once repeated this quote (variously ascribed to Irma Rombauer and Dorothy Parker) to me: "eternity is two people and a ham." Having a small family, with only two meat eaters, this is a reason why ham typically features on my table only on Christmas Eve, and possibly Easter. But, I love a similar meat - Kassler, or smoked pork chops. For one thing, you can buy a single chop if you like, and for another, you can do a million things with it: I have another post on this site which features this versatile, and cost effective ingredient. After several days of over cooking and overeating over the holiday, a simple flavorful dinner seemed like the antidote to appetizers, cookies, mulled wine, etc. Because I didn't make a Christmas ham this year, I am using smoked pork chop in the recipe, but you can shave a day off of eternity by using leftover ham in this recipe!! The flavor will be a bit less intense with the ham, but it will still be very tasty. The suggested quantities should serve four with some leftovers. Like my recipe for Cauliflower Pasta "Carbonara", you want all the ingredients ready and sitting there when the pasta is done. This recipe uses the heat of the just cooked pasta to cook the eggs that form the cheese sauce, so it needs to be steaming hot when you assemble it.
Whole Wheat Pasta with Peas and Smoked Pork Chop (or Ham)
2 eggs- beaten and ideally at room temperature
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp dried tarragon
1/4 tsp dried red pepper flakes
16 oz frozen Locavorious sugar snap peas, or 2 cups of frozen conventional green peas
1 smoked pork chop cut up into 1/2 inch dice (or 1-2 cups of diced leftover ham)
1/2-2/3 cup shredded quattro formaggio blend
6-8 oz uncooked whole wheat pasta (fusilli is a good choice for this creamy sauce)
Boil the pasta until it reaches the tenderness you prefer. In the meantime prepare everything else. Beat the eggs and add the tarragon and red pepper to them; heat the peas in the microwave, or boil them in water, and warm up the smoked pork chop cubes in the microwave. I used frozen whole sugar snap peas, but just plain green peas will be fine too. When the pasta is ready, drain the water off and pour in the heavy cream and stir it in, followed immediately by the beaten egg, and stir well for a few minutes, until the pasta is completely coated with the sauce, and its heat has cooked the eggs. Add the hot peas and ham, and stir, then add the shredded cheese and blend everything together. Check the seasoning, and add a little black pepper if needed. This is good served with a green salad or fruit salad! Dee Dee