Gnocchi shells with prosciutto, peas and garlic

In an ideal world, I would have made this with both butter and cream, because both of those will make this a significantly more luxurious and, of course, richer dish. Doctor’s orders demand otherwise, so I used olive oil and only “enriched” the sauce with pasta water.

There’s nothing stingy about this — pasta water is the required way of finishing a pasta sauce in many proud family kitchens, and adding cream is more commonplace beyond Italy’s borders.

But you’re the boss of you, so make your own choice of either following my recipe exactly, or substituting butter for olive oil (or use both), and cream for pasta water. Otherwise, the method is the same.

Ingredients

3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

140g prosciutto

1 cup of frozen peas

150ml milk

150ml water

1 sachet or cube of vegetable stock

1 cup of finely grated Parmesan and more for serving

Salt and black pepper to taste

2 ladles of pasta water (or 100ml cream)

Half a packet of gnocchi pasta shells (the pasta shape, not potato gnocchi)

Method

Peel and slice the garlic as thinly as you can. Cut the prosciutto slices into bits the way you would chop up bacon.

In a small pot, heat 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or butter), add the garlic slivers, and sauté very gently, on the lowest heat, until they just begin to take on a little colour. Scoop them out into a side dish.

Add the bits of prosciutto and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon as you would when cooking in a wok, until the prosciutto is a little bit crispy and has turned darker. Add to the garlic in the side dish.

Add the water and milk to a small saucepan and stir in the contents of the vegetable sachet or cube. Add the frozen peas and stir. Don’t season — the stock is salty enough.

Bring it to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, but watch it constantly so that the milk component does not cause it to boil over. Keep the heat right down until the peas are tender.

Meanwhile, boil a pot of salted water (not too much salt) and, when boiling briskly, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Reserve 2 ladles of the pasta water and drain the pasta.

Add the peas and their liquid to the pan with the garlic and simmer for two or three minutes. Add the prosciutto and garlic back to the pan.

Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning if needed.

Fold in most of the grated Parmesan, leaving some for sprinkling on the pasta.

Add the drained pasta back to the empty pasta pot, put it on a moderate heat, add all of the sauce and everything it contains, and toss with a pasta spoon. (If using cream, add 100ml of that instead of the pasta water and simmer gently until the sauce has thickened.)

Serve in pasta bowls, sprinkled with parmesan. DM

Tony Jackman is twice winner of the Galliova Food Writer of the Year award, in 2021 and 2023.

Follow Tony Jackman on Instagram @tony_jackman_cooks.

This dish is photographed in a bowl by Mervyn Gers Ceramics.