This ham pasta is a simple meal that is delicious homemade comfort food. It's a great way to use leftover ham, and this one-pan dinner makes incredible leftovers.
In a large saucepan bring 3 quarts of salted water to a boil.
Add rotini noodles and cook until al dente, ~7 minutes. Make the sauce while the pasta cooks.
16 oz dry rotini noodles
Drain all but ¼ cup of water from the rotini. Keep noodles in the saucepan with 1/4 cup of pasta water.
In a large deep frying pan heat butter and olive over medium heat.
2 tbsp unsalted butter, 2 tbsp olive oil
Add garlic and the shallots. Stir until the garlic and shallots are starting to soften, and a few of the pieces are starting to brown. ~2-3 minutes.
5 cloves garlic, 2 tbsp shallot
Sprinkle flour over the top of the garlic, and whisk to combine. Cook for 2 minutes.
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
Slowly whisk in white wine, chicken stock, warmed whole milk, kosher salt, black pepper, and lemon zest, whisking constantly to incorporate.
1/4 cup white cooking wine, 3/4 cup chicken stock, 2/3 cup whole milk, 2 tsp lemon zest, 1/4 tsp ground black pepper, 1 tsp kosher salt
Increase the temperature to medium-high heat and whisk constantly while it cooks at a near boil for 2 minutes, or until thickened.
Reduce heat and add the cooked rotini noodles, 1/4 cup pasta water, shredded Parmesan, chopped ham, frozen peas, and cream cheese to the lemon butter mixture.
1/3 cup shredded parmesan, 2 cups chopped ham, 1 cup green peas, 4 oz cream cheese
Stir to combine the pasta and sauce. Cook for 1 minute.
Notes
Whole wheat rotini noodles will work great. They generally need an additional 1-3 minutes to cook in boiling water.
Gluten-free - use gluten-free pasta and sub in gluten-free flour OR cornstarch instead of all-purpose flour for the sauce.
Make sure you warm the milk before adding it to the butter sauce. Cold milk will curdle when it interacts with the hot pan and lemon zest.