Pasta and peas was one of the staple meals my mom made for us growing up. We probably had it at least once a week. She learned the recipe from my grandma Tina, and it was a simple, inexpensive dish to throw together—just pasta and frozen peas cooked with a bit of chicken broth and aromatics topped with grated parm. It’s such a nostalgic, cozy meal from my childhood, and I often find myself making different versions of it. This one is all about the broth: A creamy, rich, Parmesan-fortified chicken broth brings together all the same flavors in a homey elegance. This recipe calls for a hefty number of Parmesan rinds, which many stores now carry on their own, but you can also just save your own rinds in the freezer. I love adding a runny egg on top for a complete meal with a bit more richness. If you have any extra broth left over, it will separate in the fridge, but if you heat it gently on the stove, it will come right back together. You can even blend it again if you feel like it!
Parmesan rinds tend to stick to the bottom of the pan, so stirring the broth every now and then helps mitigate this. Whatever you use to stir the broth will inevitably get some Parmesan stuck to it, which can be a little tricky to clean, but trust me, the broth is very much worth it!
