Pasta with Prosciutto, Peas, and Cream

1. Boil Water

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, using just enough water to cover the pasta by 1-2 inches. This will save you some time waiting for the water to boil and will also ensure that you have plenty of starch in the pasta water to help hold your emulsion (which is what makes restaurant pasta so good!). Add about two teaspoons of salt per quart of water, right before you're going to use it, as you don't want the water to reduce and become too salty. Once boiling, turn the heat to low and place a lid on the pot until you're ready to cook the pasta.

2. Sweat aromatics

Melt the butter in a pan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and prosciutto and sweat with a pinch of salt until they've softened.

3. Add Cream

Add the heavy cream into the pan, letting it simmer with the garlic, prosciutto and butter. Stir the reduce the sauce by about 25%.

4. Cook Pasta

Bring the water back to a boil, toss in the pasta and cook for about 30 seconds to 1 minute less than the package suggests for al dente. Reserve a cup of pasta water before draining.

5. Sauce Pasta

Add the drained pasta to the cream sauce along with a 1/4 cup of pasta water. Cook over medium heat to reduce the sauce a little and finish cooking the pasta. The sauce should be thick enough to cling to each piece of pasta while not so thick that the noodles are clumping tightly together. The sauce will thicken more after you add the cheese, and as it cools on your plate.

6. Finishing Ingredients

Stir in the thawed peas, toss to incorporate. Remove the skillet from the heat and add in the Pecorino, Parmesan and parsley, tossing and mixing until the cheese has fully melted and the sauce is smooth. Adjust the consistency of the sauce with a splash of pasta water if it's gotten too thick.

7. Plate and Serve

Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt if needed. Plate and serve.