Pasta with Peas and Lemon

I started cooking this pasta dish because of my love of frozen peas and my equally strong hatred of creating unnecessary dishes. 4 main ingredients, 1 pot, and it's done in as long as it takes to cook the pasta.

Ingredients

• For 2 or 3 people:
  • 1 lb short pasta, such as mezzi rigatoni, rotini or farfalle
  • 1 bag frozen baby peas
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon
  • parmesan or pecorino romano cheese (or any hard aged Italian cheese)
  • butter
  • olive oil
  • salt
  • pepper

To make this for 1, simply use 1/2 a box of pasta, 1/2 the bag of peas, omit the lemon juice (or add just a squirt) and go easy on everything else.

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and add a small handful of salt - it's very hard to over-salt pasta water.
2. Meanwhile, roll the lemon between your hand and the counter to get the juice flowing, and zest it with a grater.
3. Add the pasta to the boiling water.
4. When it is about 6 minutes away from done, add the peas.
5. When the pasta is done, drain it and the peas and return them to the pot.
6. Add about 2 tablespoons of butter and a bit of olive oil, and the lemon zest.
7. Stir vigorously to help the butter melt and coat the cheese.
8. Add a good pinch of salt (you can add more to taste later) about 10 grinds of pepper, and grate in as much cheese as you like—at least a handful.
9. Stir vigorously, so that the cheese distributes instead of clumping.
10. Taste and adjust seasoning.
11. Consume!

Variations

Try adding broccoli, pine nuts, or other flourishes for garnish and/or additional flavor.