Pasta Charlotte

My love for cooking, quality ingredients, and eclectic flavor compositions is something I hope to pass on to my daughters. I decided shortly after they were born that I would endeavor to create two pasta dishes that were standouts in flavor and uniqueness, but mostly two dishes that were good enough to bear their names. While Pasta Genevieve was discovered about 6 months into the lives of our twins, Pasta Charlotte would not come so easily. After 2+ years of experimentation, I give you Pasta Charlotte.



- 1 quart organic free range chicken broth
- 1/2 large white onion, medium dice
- 3 celery stalks, finely chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup fresh sugar snap peas (painstakingly separated from 1/2 lb of pods)
- 6 thin slices of high quality prosciutto, sliced into 1 1/2" x 1/4" strips
- 8 oz can of Organic Muir Glen tomato sauce
- 1/2-3/4 cup of heavy cream
- smooth ziti dried pata

In a large saute pan, bring the chicken broth to a simmer. Add the onion and celery and reduce by half. Add the garlic and reduce by 3/4; so the net of all this should be 1/2 cup of very intensely flavored liquid (7/8ths total reduction from the quart of broth). Strain the reduction. Stir in the tomato sauce and cream. Drizzle the cooked ziti (al dente, cooked in slightly salted water) with the sauce. Layer on several strips of the prosciutto and top with the fresh peas (uncooked). The combination of peas and prosciutto is not new, but leaving the peas raw was a revelation in fresh flavor, it completely evoked spring to me. The key to the sauce is using organic tomatoes, something you really trust, and only warming it with the reduction, then softening the intensity with the cream. I'll say it again, I've made dozens of tomato cream sauces, but this was really a revelation, this is an instant personal classic. The best part ...Charlotte loved it too!