Pasta with Pancetta
Serves: 3 to 4
A quick and delicious pasta recipe using only three ingredients! Olive oil, pancetta and pasta is all that you need to make this super tasty dish. Recipe with step-by-step photos.
Ingredients
- 200 g (7 oz) pancetta
- 350 g (12 oz) dried spaghetti, or dried linguine
- sea salt
- white pepper, freshly cracked
- 3-4 tablespoons olive oil
- fresh parsley, finely chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to the boil.
- As the pasta water is coming to a boil, prepare the pancetta.
- Remove the rind from the pancetta, and chop the pancetta into small, thick dice. The pancetta will shrink as it cooks.
- Add the pasta to the boiling water, together with 1-2 teaspoons coarse salt. Cook the pasta according to the manufacturer's instructions.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Cook the pancetta pieces until they are golden and crispy all over.
- If the pancetta has rendered too much fat, remove some fat to a bowl. You want about 3-4 tablespoons of fat remaining in the skillet.
- Generally, the pancetta will finish cooking before the pasta is ready. If so, set the skillet aside off the heat while the pasta finishes cooking.
- Drain the pasta well.
- Return the skillet to the stove over medium-high heat.
- Add the pasta and mix it through the pancetta and oil well, ensuring that every strand of pasta is coated. As you do this, make sure that any pancetta fat stuck to the pan is lifted off with the pasta - this is what will flavour the pasta.
- Garnish with parsley (if using) and serve immediately.
Kitchen Notes
- COOKING IN THE OVEN
Pour the olive oil into a large roasting pan, add the chopped pancetta pieces and toss to coat. Bake at 210°C/410°F (without fan) for 15-30 minutes (timing depends on your oven and how big or small you have cut the pancetta), until the pancetta is golden and crispy. During this time, cook the pasta. Finish as per the recipe above. - VARIATIONS
* Add dried chilli flakes to the hot oil after the pancetta has cooked.
* Add finely grated or thinly sliced garlic to the hot oil after the pancetta has cooked.
* Add frozen peas to cook with the pasta.
* Add a mix of frozen peas and baby carrots to cook with the pasta.
* Substitute the olive oil for garlic-infused olive oil.
* Serve the pasta on a bed of fresh rocket (arugula). - OVEN & STOVE TEMPERATURES
All recipes on this website have been tested on an induction stove and/or with a conventional oven (i.e. an oven without fan). All recipes on this website use temperatures for a conventional oven, unless otherwise mentioned. Convection ovens (i.e. fan-forced ovens) are typically 20°C/70°F hotter than conventional ovens, but please check your manufacturer’s handbook. - CONVERSIONS
To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.