15 minute meals: a quick recipe for creamy Italian snow peas with pasta

If you need to cook a quick dinner, this article might be just what you're looking for. Check out this recipe for creamy Italian snow peas with pasta that will help you get dinner on the table in no time.

• Preparation time: 5 minutes.
• Cooking time: 10 minutes.
• Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 275 g (10 oz) dried pasta
• 325 ml (1 1/3 c) snow peas
• 250 ml (1 c) low-fat ricotta
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) chives, snipped
• 10 ml (2 tsp) fresh mint, finely chopped
• 4 scallions, chopped
• 40 g (8 tsp) grated Parmesan

Instructions:

1. Add pasta, such as penne or fusilli, to a pot filled with boiling water. Cook the pasta for 10 minutes, or until tender but firm to the bite.
2. Meanwhile, cook snow peas in a pot of boiling water for three minutes, or until cooked. Drain and return the snow peas to the pan.
3. Add low-fat ricotta, chives, mint and scallions and toss together gently. Drain the pasta and transfer it to the pot with the sauce and snow peas.
4. Mix thoroughly and serve with 10 grams (two teaspoons) grated Parmesan sprinkled over each portion.

• Rich in a range of vitamins and minerals, peas are an excellent source of vitamin C to boost the immune system and potassium for healthy muscle and nerve function.
• Peas are also high in fibre, which is good for digestion and for the heart, and in lutein, a natural plant pigment that helps to protect eyesight.

Nutritional information: 347 calories, 6 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 56 g carbohydrates, 17 g protein, 4 g fibre.

• For contrasting flavour, add 125 millilitres (1/2 cup) lima beans to this dish, cooked with the snow peas.
• Cottage cheese, which has fewer calories than ricotta, can be used as a stand-in for recipes where the extra moisture is not a problem. To keep moisture to a minimum, try putting cottage cheese in a food processor, processing it until it is smooth. To compare, 250 millilitres (one cup) of low-fat ricotta contains about 250 calories and 10 grams of fat; the same amount of one percent cottage cheese contains about 180 calories and contains three grams of fat.
• You can use any shape of pasta that will cup or grab the sauce, such as shells.

On busy nights you don't want to spend all your time in the kitchen. Give this delicious recipe a try and make a quick dinner so you can get on with your evening.