Super-fast pasta dash

Day to day reality for each of us has always varied dramatically. And now, as a result of the pandemic, many of us are still living into relatively new situations: homeschooling children perhaps or, like, me, working from home since last March after a long career of travel. At the same time, my dear sister manages a furniture store in the Meatpacking District, commuting daily and interacting in a masked environment. Truly, we are all in this together, but perhaps in different types of boats. That being said, we can all use a super-fast, delicious pan dinner that pleases all the senses without too much fuss.

Ingredients
¼ cup quality olive oil
½ small onion diced
2 garlic cloves sliced thin
3-4 medium white potatoes
1 small green pepper, chopped into ¾-inch squares
¾ cup frozen green peas
1 large ripe tomato, chopped into ¾-inch squares
1 bag mini raviolis / tortellini / pappardelle
½ cup shredded parmesan
4 tablespoons chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional: protein of your choice, i.e., shrimp, salmon filet, sliced beef filet

Method
Bring 4 potatoes to boil in a medium saucepan for 8-12 minutes, until you can slide a knife into a potato and tell it has softened. You can cook the potatoes while you prep the rest of your ingredients since it is the most time consuming portion of this recipe. Drain potatoes, and cool slightly until you can handle them, then rough-chop into ¾-inch squares. Give that saucepan a quick rinse, fill with water and return to the stove to boil water and prepare pasta. Cook pasta to taste, I recommend slightly al dente for this recipe.

Heat the largest skillet you have over medium-high heat. Add diced onion, sauté until translucent, then add pototoes and sauté about 8 minutes until they are browning nicely. Add peppers and garlic slices, sauté another 3-4 minutes. Add peas, generously salt and pepper to taste. Add fresh pasta and tomatoes and cook over medium heat for about another 3-4 minutes or until tomato just starts to heat up. Finally, toss with grated parmesan and parsley, and continue to salt and pepper to taste. If you choose to add protein, lay nicely on top and sprinkle with parsley.