The combination of small, curled pasta shapes, crunchy snap peas and tiny meatballs is perfect for a light, summertime meal. Remember to save some of the pasta cooking water to add extra creaminess when finishing the dish in the skillet. Cook, relax, and enjoy!

What You’ll Need:
1 oz shallot
8 oz ground duck
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons panko breadcrumbs
6 oz strozzapreti pasta
5 oz sugar snap peas
3 basil stems
1 oz pecorino romano cheese
olive oil
coarse salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 large egg

Equipment: rimmed baking sheet
large pot
colander
large skillet
peeler

Make meatball mixture
Halve, peel, and finely chop shallot. Peel and finely chop garlic. Crack egg into a medium bowl, then lightly beat. Stir in duck, garlic, breadcrumbs, and shallot. Season with ½ teaspoon each of salt and pepper.

Bake meatballs
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Form duck mixture into 1-inch balls. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet and bake in oven for 8 minutes.

Cook pasta
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package instructions, about 7 minutes. Drain pasta, saving about 1 cup of the pasta water.

Prep vegetables
Cut snap peas in half on the bias if large. Remove basil leaves from stems and slice into thin strips.

Combine meatballs and pasta
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add meatballs and heat through (add approx time?). Add drained pasta and about half of the pasta water, swirling skillet to make pan sauce, adding more water if needed.

Finish pasta
Add snap peas and basil to skillet. Toss to coat, season with salt and pepper to finish. Top with shavings of pecorino cheese, a drizzle of olive oil and freshly ground black pepper, and serve immediately. Enjoy!

Suggested Sips: A medium bodied white or Pinot Noir