Paglia e Fieno (Straw and Hay Pasta)

plate of straw and hay pasta garnished with a basil leaf.

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5 from 5 votes

Paglia e Fieno (Straw and Hay Pasta)

You'll love this creamy fettuccine with prosciutto and peas!

Prep Time5

Cook Time30

Total Time35

Course: dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Servings:

Calories: 683kcal

Author: Mamma C

Ingredients

4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto (can use diced prosciutto)
1 large shallot
4 Tablespoons salted butter
8 ounces frozen baby peas (no need to thaw them)
1 ¼ cups heavy cream
⅓ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (plus extra for serving if desired)
⅓ cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese (plus extra for serving if desired)
red pepper flakes
1 pound fettuccine (For a traditional dish, use 8 ounces fresh spinach fettuccine and 8 ounces fresh, plain fettuccine. See notes.)
3 fresh basil leaves (optional)

Instructions

If using prosciutto slices, stack them and cut them into 1-inch cubes. Peel and finely chop the whole shallot. Grate the cheeses, if needed.
In a 12-inch skillet, melt four tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat. Stir in the cubed prosciutto and the chopped shallots. Cook until the shallots are soft.
Add the frozen peas and stir to combine. Cover the pan, lower the heat to medium, and let the peas cook for five minutes.
Fill a large pasta pot ⅔ full with hot water and place it on the stove. Add 2 teaspoons of salt to the pot, cover it, and heat it on high.
After the peas have cooked for five minutes, stir in 1 ¼ cups of cream to the skillet of peas and prosciutto. Raise the heat to just past medium and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the sauce is thickened and just starting to simmer.
Turn off the heat under the cream sauce and stir in ⅓ cup of grated Parmesan and ⅓ cup of grated Pecorino. Sprinkle in red pepper flakes to taste.
When the pot of water is boiling, stir in the fettuccine and cook it according to the package directions until it's al dente, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. (If using fresh or homemade pasta, it will cook in about three minutes, but regular fettuccine will take longer.)
When the pasta is almost done, scoop out one cup of starchy water and add it to a bowl for later. (A standard-size ladle is ½ cup, so scoop out two ladles.) When the fettuccine is cooked, drain it in a colander in the sink.
Add the drained pasta to the skillet of paglia e fieno sauce. Stir it in, along with half a ladle (¼ cup) of reserved, starchy cooking water. Serve the straw and hay pasta immediately, with extra Romano or Parmesan on top if desired. Add cut-up basil if using it.
If there any leftovers, stir in a little more reserved starchy water so the pasta won't be too dry. Refrigerate the fettuccine in a sealed container for up to four days.

Notes

This dish tastes extra delicious when using a combination of fresh spinach fettuccine and fresh, plain fettuccine for a traditional "straw and hay" pasta. It's still incredible when using regular, dried fettuccine, so don't worry if that's all you have.

If you don't have fettuccine, consider substituting penne or rigatoni. I find spaghetti to be too thin for this dish.

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