BOCUSE PASTA SIDE DISH
A pasta side made to soak up the sauce from a stew or meat cooked in jus.
This is Bocuse's take on pasta , and it looks quite different then the classics. No oil, no tomato, no garlic. Just butter, cream, peas, cured ham and a handful of basil, tossed together the moment the pasta is drained. It comes together in minutes and, according to Bocuse himself, it is not really meant to be eaten alone. Think of it as a side dish, the kind that sits beautifully next to a piece of meat with a good sauce or a slow-cooked stew.
SERVES 4 AS A SIDE
INGREDIENTS
150 g (5 oz) frozen peas
Salt, for the cooking water and to season
400 g (14 oz) fresh pasta (dried works too, cook to packet instructions)
30 g (1 oz) butter
100 g (3.5 oz) cured ham, sliced thick and diced
100 ml (3.5 fl oz) double cream
Pepper, to taste
A handful of fresh basil leaves
MISE EN PLACE
You will need two pans, one for the pasta and one for the peas, plus a large sauté pan or casserole dish for the final assembly.
Dice the cured ham before you start. Bocuse doesn't specify a size, but matching it roughly to the peas works well.
Have your basil leaves picked and ready, they go in right at the end.
METHOD
Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and blanch the peas just briefly. As soon as the water comes back to a boil, drain the peas and rinse them under cold water straight away. This stops the cooking and keeps that bright green colour. Set aside.
Bring a second pan of well-salted water to a rolling boil and cook the pasta until al dente. Fresh pasta takes only four minutes or so, dried pasta will need longer, so follow the packet timing closely. This is not a dish to overcook the pasta on.
While the pasta cooks, melt the butter in your sauté pan over medium heat. Add the diced ham and peas and let them warm through together for a minute or two, no longer.
Drain the pasta, and without rinsing it, tip it straight into the pan with the ham and peas. Toss everything together well. Season with salt and pepper, then pour in the cream. Bocuse is clear on one thing here, the cream should never boil, it is there to bind the dish, not to cook down into a sauce. Warm it through gently until it thickens just slightly, then scatter over the basil and give it one final toss.
Serve immediately, ideally alongside a piece of meat with a good jus or a rich stew. That is where this dish is really meant to shine.
NOTE
This is a side dish through and through, not a main course in the Italian sense. Bocuse pairs it with meat in sauce, and the cream in the pasta mingles beautifully with whatever is on the plate.
Do not rinse the pasta after draining, you want the starch to help everything cling together.