Pasta with Peas — The Spring Brightness That Inspired My Mother’s Day Pierogi

Wisconsin's Supreme Court struck down the Safer at Home order. The state is reopening, sort of, in a chaotic, patchwork way that satisfies nobody. Milwaukee County is keeping restrictions. The suburbs are opening. The bars on Water Street are packed on Saturday night while the hospitals are still strained. It's a uniquely American mess. I'm staying cautious. The deliveries continue. The cooking continues. The Lockdown Kitchen series continues. But I'm also stepping outside more — walks along the lake, morning runs through Bay View (I started running in April because the apartment walls were closing in and I needed to move or I was going to lose my mind). Milwaukee in May is achingly beautiful: the trees have leafed out, the lake is blue, the air smells like cut grass and possibility. Mother's Day is next week and I've been planning. No in-person dinner this year — too risky, Mom is fifty-one and I won't take chances with her health — but I'm going to cook a full Mother's Day meal and deliver it. Babcia's bigos, my beer-braised short ribs, the szarlotka, and a new thing I've been working on: pierogi with a spring filling. Asparagus, ricotta, lemon zest. Bright, green, seasonal. Innovation within tradition. Mrs. Wojcik would call it "not wrong." At the brewery, production is picking up. The distributors are ordering more as restrictions ease. Marcus called me in for four days this week instead of three. It feels good to be at the brewery, to have purpose beyond my kitchen, to make something that isn't food for a change. The national article is in editing. The writer sent me a draft for fact-checking. It's good — honest, warm, accurate. She captured the Babcia connection, the deliveries, the Instagram, the dream of Helen's (I told her about Helen's, which means the dream is now not just in Milwaukee but in a national magazine's fact-checking queue). It'll run next month. Follower count: forty-five thousand. I don't check it obsessively — the numbers matter less than the people — but the growth is undeniable. The pandemic turned me from a guy with a food Instagram into a guy with an audience. The question is what to do with it.

The asparagus-ricotta-lemon pierogi filling I’ve been testing for Mom’s Mother’s Day delivery didn’t come out of nowhere — it started with a bowl of pasta with peas I threw together on a Tuesday night when the fridge was nearly empty and I just needed something green and alive. There’s a lesson in that simplicity: spring vegetables don’t ask for much, just good olive oil, a little heat, and the patience to let the season speak. If you’re not up for pierogi dough this weekend, this is the spirit of that same filling — bright, gentle, and exactly right for a May table.

Pasta with Peas

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 12 oz ditalini or small shell pasta
• 2 cups fresh or frozen peas
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (or vegetable broth)
• 1/2 cup reserved pasta cooking water
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
• 1/4 cup whole-milk ricotta
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Small handful of fresh mint or flat-leaf parsley, roughly torn

Instructions

1. Salt the water. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. The water should taste like the sea — this is your only chance to season the pasta from the inside.
2. Cook the pasta. Add the pasta and cook until 2 minutes shy of al dente according to package directions. Before draining, scoop out at least 1 cup of pasta water and set aside. Drain the pasta.
3. Build the base. While the pasta cooks, warm the olive oil in a large skillet or wide saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring often, until the garlic is soft and just beginning to turn golden, about 2 to 3 minutes. Do not let it brown.
4. Add the peas. Add the peas to the skillet and stir to coat them in the oil. If using frozen peas, let them warm through, about 2 minutes. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
5. Deglaze. Pour in the white wine and let it bubble and reduce by half, about 2 minutes, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pan.
6. Combine pasta and sauce. Add the drained pasta directly to the skillet. Pour in 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water and toss over medium heat, letting everything meld together for 1 to 2 minutes. Add more pasta water a splash at a time if the mixture looks dry — you want a loose, silky sauce that coats each piece of pasta.
7. Finish with cheese and lemon. Remove the pan from heat. Stir in the Parmesan and ricotta until creamy and incorporated. Add the lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice. Taste and adjust salt, pepper, and lemon as needed.
8. Serve. Divide among warm bowls. Drizzle with a little extra olive oil, scatter the fresh herbs over the top, and add another grating of Parmesan. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 510 | Protein: 20g | Fat: 16g | Carbs: 70g | Fiber: 7g | Sodium: 340mg