Peas and Carrots Pasta

Have you all heard of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon? I’m sure you have, but it basically says that you can find a way to link any actor or actress back to Kevin Bacon in six steps or less. Well, just about every time I make a recipe from another food blogger, this game comes to my mind. And I think it’s mostly because when a recipe is good, the food blogging community is going to get a hold of it and pass it right around. There are some recipes that I have seen on multiple blogs. So whenever I see that a food blogger has made a dish from another food blogger, I know it’s going to be good. Like this pasta dish. I got it from a food blogger who got it from a food blogger who got it from a food blogger. Now wouldn’t it be fun if another food blogger made this and posted it – pretty soon this simple peas and carrots dish will take over the food blogging world!

I can see why it’s been so popular. First, they are all ingredients that I pretty much always have on hand. In fact, this dish was on my weekly menu for 3 weeks until I finally got to it. Not because I didn’t want to make it, but because the ingredients could all wait, while I had other recipes that I had to make before other ingredients went bad. Second, this is a very budget friendly meal. Pasta – cheap. Carrots – cheap. Frozen peas – cheap. The only ingredients that aren’t super cheap are the cream and cheese, but there is so little of it that they both also become cheap. And third – this is just plain delicious! Roasting any veggie takes it to a whole new level, and I love the sauce made from roasted, pureed carrots.

This one will definitely make it’s way back to our table!

Peas and Carrots Pasta
from A Good Appetite (who got it from The Cooking Photographer who got it from Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice)

serves 2

total time: about 1 hour 20 minutes

8 oz carrots (about 3), peeled & cut into 1-inch pieces
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1 T fresh thyme leaves, chopped
1 T olive oil
salt & pepper
6 oz pasta
1/3 c heavy cream
3 T grated Parmesan
1/8 – 1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes
3/4 c frozen peas, thawed

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Place the carrots, garlic & thyme in a small roasting pan. Drizzle with the olive oil & stir to coat. Season with salt & pepper then stir again. Roast in the oven for 45 – 50 minutes brown & caramelized.

Cook pasta according to directions.

While the pasta is cooking, put the roasted carrots & garlic into a food processor or blender. Add the cream, parmesan & red pepper. Blend until smooth.

When the pasta is cooked set aside 1/3 – 1/2 cup off the cooking water. Drain the pasta & return to the hot pan. Stir in the blended carrot sauce and the peas. Add some of the reserved cooking water if the sauce is too thick. Serve with more grated Parmesan.