September 23, 2008

Peanut Butter-Snap Pea Pasta


This recipe is a potluck specialty from my mother-in-law. It is equally good cold as it is hot. We eat it as a one-dish meal in the summer. Make sure to use red bell peppers to make a pretty dish with the nutty pasta sauce and the green snap peas. (When we took these pictures, we didn't have quite enough snap peas, so I supplemented with our abundant green beans and it was great-- so I'd say any fresh, crisp green vegetables would work, depending on the season you're making it!)  

The original recipe called for half as much of everything-- half a pound of pasta, half a pound of snap peas, etc. But as I've mentioned previously, my family of four can no longer make a full meal out of less than a pound of pasta, so I've adjusted the amounts here for a family meal. For us it was perfect, and left some for lunch the next day, but you may want to halve this if serving it as a side dish or for fewer people or smaller appetites. 

One other quick note: I've discovered minced ginger that comes in a jar/tube and it's great and I really recommend keeping it on hand for great flavor in all sorts of ethnic and other dishes. In the fridge, it lasts a reasonable length of time, and we have fresh(ish) ginger always available for recipes, without having to either buy ginger root (which we honestly can't always find) or make due with some amount of dried ground ginger instead. Woohoo!






Peanut Butter-Snap Pea Pasta 
from Anne

1 lb. medium-sized pasta 
1 lb. snap peas (or green beans, halved) 
1 medium red bell pepper, sliced 
2/3 C light soy sauce 
1/2 C peanut oil 
1/4 C sesame oil 
6 T chunky peanut butter 
1/4 C minced fresh ginger 
dash of pepper 

Cook pasta and drain; combine with peas and peppers. 

Whisk remaining ingredients together; pour over pasta just before serving.

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