Boil a pot of salted water for the orecchiette pasta. Once boiling, cook the pasta according to the package instructions.
While the water is boiling, cook the sausage. In a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat, cook the sausage until browned and cooked through. Remove the sausage from the pan and drain the fat.
Place the frozen peas in a microwave-safe bowl with the recommended amount of water (on the package) and cook according to package instructions.
Heat the non-stick pan used to cook the sausage over medium-high heat, add the olive oil. Pour in the minced shallots and garlic, cook for approximately 3 minutes. Stir in the red pepper flakes.
Return thesausageto the pan along with the cooked pasta and peas. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the mixture and season with salt and pepper. Stir until everything is well incorporated. Heat over medium-low heat until heated through.
Remove from heat and serve with parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.
Notes
Reserve a ¼ cup of starchy pasta water before draining the pasta. Stir it into the pasta-sausage mixture for a nice, creamy texture.
If you do not have a microwave, cook the peas in the same boiling water as the pasta. Boil the peas and then use a strainer spoon to remove them. Bring the water back to a boil before cooking the orecchiette pasta.
Drizzle extra-virgin olive oil over each pasta serving before sprinkling with parmesan cheese.