this weekend while I was cleaning, I watched several episodes of Pioneer Woman that I had recorded in my DVR. I was totally inspired by her girl day food and after I saw her make her Pasta with Pancetta and Leeks, I knew I had to make a version of this recipe. I’ve never been one much on leeks. Probably because its not something Ive really ever had cooked properly so I’ve not developed the flavor….but as my previous post indicated, I love caramelized onions and thought this would be the perfect substitute the leeks. So, I use mostly things I had – you know minus the onion and pancetta!
pancetta…this stuff is great, but really, bacon does the same thing and I think it frys up better..just my opinion. cut the slices into little pieces and place in the skillet.
I for sure had to bring out the iron skillet for this one. stir the pancetta until it is crispy. Even if you dont like your bacon or pancetta fully cooked because this is a creamy sauce, you will want to make sure its crispy.
put the cooked pancetta on a paper towel lined plate to drain while you complete the other steps.
without cleaning the skillet (you will want all the yummy bacon goodness in the bottom!) caramelize an onion. Not sure how? Let me assure you this is a step you don’t want to miss. Let me remind you!
once finished, remove to a bowl, but don’t clean the skillet!
in the same skillet, saute some roasted red peppers. I cut these in thin strips, but you could use the kind for salads that are already in slices. You don’t have to do this step, but I had these in the fridge and they were a nice touch to the pasta. I cooked them the same way I did the onions, just using the juices left in the bottom of the skillet.
when you know your sauce is about 15 minutes from being ready, get your water ready for your pasta. Now, when I boil pasta or chicken, I always add stuff to the water. I’m convinced that the pasta absorbs the flavor of the things in the water. for this, I added salt, some Italian spices and 3 sprigs of fresh thyme. I had it left over from my cooking escapade with a sweet friend on Saturday. I didn’t really want the little pieces of the herb in my pasta sauce, so I decided to infuse the pasta water with the flavor. Whether it makes a difference to add things to pasta water or not, it makes me feel better.
You know infusing pasta has to make you fancy, right?!?!
(I will pass along the advice of the pioneer woman and encourage you to go with “fun” pasta. i used rotini, she uses farfalle or bowties. The shaped pasta just gives the sauce lots of nice places to hide!)
In the mean time…go back to your sauce and pull it all together while your pasta boils. With the peppers still in the skillet, pour in 1 C of chicken stock or another clear colored bubbly liquid…you know the kind with the cork in it…but if you have chicken stock it works just the same. You want to add this while the skillet is hot. it helps deglaze the bottom of the skillet and grab all the yummy layers that you have been preparing. Go ahead and turn up the heat to medium high. Add in the onions and 1/2 C of cream or milk or a combination of the two. Add in the pancetta and for me a few sprigs of thyme. Its a good idea to salt and pepper to taste as well if you haven’t been adding those with all the veggies as they cook. bring this sauce to a boil and cook while your pasta finishes. This high temp will help the sauce thicken and combine all the flavors.
Drain your pasta.
Remove the thyme sprigs from the pasta and the sauce. The flavor of the thyme should be infused into both keeping the herb flavors consistent between dishes. (of course you are welcome to cut this up in the sauce, I just didn’t want the little green flecks). Pour the pasta into the sauce and toss to fully coat.
Lookey there!
This is a thin sauce that coats the pasta, not covers it. That’s the beauty of this rustic pasta dish.
And, what past dish is complete without fresh cheese grated over the top? I used asiago, but parm or any other nutty cheese would be perfect with these flavors.
Go ahead and find a spot just to yourself. You will want an alone moment with this one!
Recipes may not always be the norm around here, but its really been the highlight of my week so I had to share! Cooking is a creative outlet for me. I love experimenting and seeing what I can do with what I have…hey the worst thing that can happen is that I toss it out and have to eat something out of the freezer.
