Pancetta Pasta

seckorama(77)

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2021-12-22 09:43

Hello, chefs! 😋

I always have the feeling that I'm in a bit of a jam and that I'm running out of time for everything. Especially when Christmas is slowly approaching and the New Year holidays.
My last article in this community was posted about a month ago. It's not that I didn't cook anything, but I was always in a hurry and didn't have time to document a recipe.

Well, a couple of days ago I said I had to stop for a bit. I got home first that afternoon (my wife has announced that she'll be late from work), the kids get home from school in half an hour and I have to cook something quick again.

OK, I'll make something simple but I'll also take photos, let's say it'll be a challenge to see if I can photo everything in half an hour and cook lunch at the same time :) 😁

Pasta with pancetta is the easiest dish I know, we used to eat it as kids, just like when we came home from school hungry, my mother would come home from work and start cooking immediately.
In fact, it's the same now as it was then, only the roles have been reversed. Now I am the parent rushing to feed the puppies. (And myself, of course, in case anyone thinks I'm going to stay hungry 😁)

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What do we need for this dish? A few ingredients:

pasta, about half a kilo or less, I have spaghetti;
tomato sauce, 3 to 4 decilitres, this is homemade, from tomatoes from my field;
vegetable mix, 2 or 3 tablespoons, I have homemade;
pancetta (this is cured and/or smoked bacon), but it can also be cooked or baked bacon, 10 to 20 dekagrams;
half a medium onion.

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The dish can also be vegetarian, i.e. without pancetta, if you don't eat meat. But then it would be just pasta with tomatoes :)

First, cut the pancetta into smaller pieces.

Immediately put it in a heated frying pan to drain the fat.

While the bacon is frying, cut the onion into small pieces and add it to the pan.

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Then add the vegetable mixture.
We make our own at home with vegetables from the garden. In a food processor, grind parsley, onion, carrot, celeriac, salt, and olive oil. I think this mixture is called 'sofrito', but correct me if I'm wrong. One or two tablespoons. We also use such a mixture in soups and in all the sauces and stews we prepare.
As it's quite salty, be careful not to over-salt the sauce.

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It's time to cook the pasta. Pour 2 liters of water into a large pot, season with salt, and bring to a boil. Add the pasta.

The pasta is cooked in salted water for 8-10 minutes, depending on how you want it. Either 'al dente' so that it's still a little firm, or fully cooked.

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Now back to the pancetta and add the tomato sauce. Mix everything well and it should simmer on low heat for a few minutes.
Just enough to cook the pasta.

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And the dish is ready.
Now you can drain the pasta and add it to the pan with the sauce, or divide the pasta between plates and pour the sauce over it.

In our case, we prefer to add as much sauce as we like.
When serving, the grated Parmesan cheese should not be missing.