Your kitchen is going to smell SO good. Gah. I’m excited for you with this one. This Brothy Pasta with Crushed Peas is a great recipe to have around when you need something that reads sort of “special,” but is in fact, “very, very easy.” We’ll use three pans, yes it’s true (I’m sorry) and a handful of basic ingredients to whip up a truly gorgeous pasta dish that isn’t even close to ordinary. Read on for the recipe rundown, or just jump ahead to the recipe itself. You do you!

Table of Contents

Brothy Pasta with Crushed Peas and Brown Buttery Pretzels

Brothy Pasta with Peas: Tips and Tricks

We’re shallow boiling the noodles today, just like we did in the Cacio e Pepe recipe I shared not too long ago. The reason? To ensure that our cooking liquid is as starchy as possible. The lower water-to-noods ratio contributes to a creamier sauce, which is never not a good thing in my (cook)book.
Speaking of the cooking liquid, today we’re going to actually boil the pasta in stock (either veggie or chicken) which will richly flavor the pasta itself and then serve as the anchorage for the brothy sauce that we’ll use in the end. So great! Boxed stock is where it’s at y’all.
But even so – even though stock in a box is great – we’re going to double down on the brothy vibes here and use my go-to workhorse ingredient: stock concentrate. Yep. We’re doing it again. It’s going to deeply flavor this quick fix pan sauce, making it taste like maybe you’ve been simmering it for HOURS AND HOURS. When it reality it was only like, 15 minutes. Woo!
Want to skip the burrata in favor of something cheaper? Cool. Try some mozzarella, shredded parm, or big, creamy dollops of ricotta. All would be great here.
I use honey wheat pretzel sticks here, for the breadcrumbs, as that little bit of sweetness is nice when it butts up against the savory browned butter and the Italian seasoning. Also my mama loves them. So, there’s that.

What You’ll Need

I do think this recipe reads a little longer than my usual, but everything is simple, easy to find and – save for the burrata – reasonably priced. Feel free to sub mozzarella or even parmesan for the burrata if you like. Big, rich dollops of full-fat ricotta would be great as well.

INGREDIENTS

32 ounces chicken or vegetable stock

¾ lb. long noodles (save the rest for next time)

Salt and pepper, as needed

4 tablespoons butter

1 cup crushed/chopped pretzel crumbs

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

Olive oil, as needed

Two shallots or 1 small sweet onion, minced

One or two lemons

Three garlic cloves, grated or minced (two is fine)

Two teaspoons chicken or vegetable stock concentrate

⅓ cup sour cream or plain yogurt

10-ounce bag frozen peas (thawed)

SERVING SUGGESTIONS: 8-ounces burrata cheese (the link will explain what burrata is, if you’re not super familiar), chopped fresh basil and/or mint.

How to make this Brothy Pasta with Crushed Peas

I do apologize but you will need to grab three pans for this one. I’m sorry! I usually try to ask no more than two pans of you and your dishwasher, per recipe, but alas. These breadcrumbs ain’t gonna toast themselves. This recipe is easy and low-key – nothing hard, nothing requiring any scary skills or anything like that. Plus? We get to crush peas with our bare hands which is nothing short of soul satisfying my friends.

But of course, a sensible potato masher or some such implement would do just fine as well.

DIRECTIONS

Add the stock to a large pot and bring to a boil. Add enough water to just fully submerge the noodles and enough salt to make it taste like the sea. Cook the pasta according to package directions, and reserve 2 cups of the starchy, brothy water right before you drain it. Set the pasta aside until needed (a drizzle of olive oil and a toss will help keep it from clumping).

For the pretzels: Melt the butter in a medium skillet. Allow it to simmer for a couple of minutes after melting, just until the sizzling stops and it begins to look golden. Reduce the heat to low, add the crushed pretzels and Italian seasoning. Cook for a couple of minutes until very toasty.

Add two tablespoons of olive oil to a large skillet/pan over medium heat. When it’s hot, add the shallots and saute for a couple of minutes, until tender.

Next go in the zest and juice of one of the lemons, the garlic, and stock concentrate and cook for about a minute. Add the sour cream and enough reserved pasta broth to create a thin, brothy sauce (I typically add the both cups).

Add the peas and, using a potato masher or something similar (I just use my hands), crush the peas a bit to break them up, so they release more flavor. Season well with salt and lots of pepper.

Toss the pasta with the crushed peas and sauce (you may not need all of the pasta), and pile onto a plate or platter, pouring every bit of the sauce all over. Tuck torn pieces of burrata into and all around the noodles and shower with the herby, brown buttered pretzels. Garnish with basil or mint, if you like.