This month’s theme for my Gay Lea post is “Ontario Farm Fresh” since the season for fresh produce from Ontario farms is really starting to ramp up now and I think this was my favorite recipe challenge so far! It was so fun to create a recipe inspired by our local farmers and all the great things they produce, especially because agriculture is so important to the part of the country that I live in. Gay Lea is a Canadian Dairy company owned by the dairy farmers themselves, so pairing Gay Lea products with Ontario produce just seems like a perfect fit!
I decided to use peas and mint because this late spring/early summer time of year is when these things start to become ready to harvest. Peas can be planted pretty early in the season around here, and I wish I would have been able to use peas and mint from my own garden for this post, but unfortunately, my first pea planting this year didn’t turn out so well, so I had to do a second planting a couple of weeks later and those peas just aren’t quite ready yet! All those fresh early summer flavors are still in this recipe though!
To make this pasta dish you’ll need:
-Enough spaghettini for 2 people (I like whole wheat spaghettini for this)
-2 cloves of garlic, minced
-1 cup of small peas (fresh or frozen will work!)
-1/4 cup of capers, drained
-1/2 cup of fresh mint leaves, torn roughly into small-ish pieces
-1 cup of Gay Lea Original Sour Cream
This is one of those really simply pasta dishes that comes together really quickly, but tastes like a million bucks. It’s all about those fresh ingredients! Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook your pasta while you put together the sauce.
For the sauce, start out with a medium sized pot and saute your garlic briefly in a bit of oil, just until it becomes aromatic, then add your peas.
Saute the peas, stirring frequently, until they turn bright green and are just lightly cooked, about 4-5 minutes. Add the capers and sour cream and stir to combine all of the ingredients, continue cooking for about a minute more so that everything can be warmed, then remove from heat.
I should note that all of the amounts for the ingredients really don’t need to be exact. This is the kind of recipe that you can adjust really easily to your own preference. When I say “1 cup” of sour cream, I really only eyeball it. I just scoop it right out of the tub and into the pot. So easy. 🙂 If you find that you need a bit more to cover all of your pasta, you can always just add a bit more.
When the pasta is ready, drain it and add it to the pot with the sauce, along with about 1/2 the mint leaves. Stir everything together and serve garnished with more mint!
This pasta dish is perfect for a meal outdoors on a warm early summer day. I love how quickly it comes together too so it’s great for those weeknights when you want a fun, summery meal, but don’t want to get into all the mess that comes with getting set up to make a meal on the grill.
In other news, Gay Lea is running yet another fun contest this month (until July 7, 2017) and I think this is my favorite one yet!
In honour of Gay Lea’s launch of their new Nordica Smooth Plain Cottage Cheese, they’ve set up a really cute Nordi-cow website where you can milk your way to great prizes! It’s a really cute game that involves picking your “cow personality” and milking in patterns and it’s perfect for all ages, so your kids will definitely want to play along with you. 🙂 Full details about the contest and how to play along can be found over on the website! Definitely check this one out if you’re in the mood to win, or if you just need a good laugh!
Do you have a favorite late spring/early summer meal you like to make with fresh seasonal produce?
I created this blog post as a paid ambassador with Gay Lea Foods and PTPA. All opinions, suggestions, and ideas are 100% my own as always!
Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.