1(8-oz) boxuncooked pasta(I like using long, thin shapes here; like Linguine)
1cupfrozen peas
3ozcream cheese
⅓cupgrated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Sauté ham and garlic: Melt butter in a wide skillet over medium heat. Sauté ham and garlic for a few minutes.
Roux: Stir in parsley and flour. Then, stir in the broth while stirring continuously; making sure no lumps remain. Bring to a boil once, then reduce to a simmer.
Cook pasta and peas: Add the uncooked pasta to the skillet, making sure to submerge it in liquid (break in half if needed). Simmer over medium heat until pasta is almost done, stirring a few times. Stir in the peas and finish cooking for 3-4 minutes, or until pasta is done and sauce is creamy. Take off the heat.
Finish: Stir in cream cheese and parmesan and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Ingredient notes
Ham: Use diced ham, or dice your own leftover ham. You can also buy thick ham steaks and dice them. Very thin deli ham might not work well.
Broth: Chicken broth is my favorite here, but vegetables broth works just as well. I would personally not recommend beef broth.
Pasta: I like long pasta shapes like linguine, tagliatelle or spaghetti best. You can use short pastas, but please bear in mind that the cooking time and liquid needed may vary.
Cream cheese: I used the cream cheese from the tub. Feel free to use mascarpone for a richer result!
Tips
Only cook the flour for a few seconds. Don't let it get brown, or the sauce will look and taste off.
Make sure there are no lumps of flour remaining once you have stirred in the broth.
Make sure the pan doesn't get too hot when simmering the pasta; otherwise it could start sticking to the bottom.
The peas go in at the end, but you still need to simmer them for 3-4 minutes to heat them through (don't just throw them in - make sure they cook).
Leftovers
If you have a lot of leftovers, they taste great as a pasta bake! Add to a buttered dish with ½ cup of broth (to keep from drying out), sprinkle with cheese and bake at 400°F for around 20 minutes.