Peas and Pancetta in a Flash
(Adapted from Farfelle with Peas and Pancetta, Gourmet, June 1999)

Taken from La Pomme De Portland Blog by Carrie Minns

Ingredients:

• 4 cups frozen petite peas
• 2 tbls olive oil
• ¼ - 1/3 lb pancetta, diced
• 2 large shallots
• 1 lb dried bowtie (farfelle) pasta
• salt and pepper, optional
• freshly, grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

• Fill a large, pasta pot three fourths full with water and bring to a boil for peas and pasta.
• Cook frozen peas in boiling water until tender, about 2 minutes, and with a slotted spoon transfer to a colander and spray with cold water to stop the cooking. Do Not drain the water from the pot.
• In a large, heavy skillet, heat oil until hot but not smoking and cook pancetta in oil, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and edges are crisp, about 8-10 minutes.
• Stir in shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender about 3-4 minutes.
• While your pancetta is cooking you can return the water in pot to a boil.
• Cook pasta according to directions on package.
• Before you drain your cooked pasta, reserve 1 cup of pasta water.
• Drain pasta in colander and add it to your finished pancetta mixture with the peas, ¼ cup reserved pasta water and salt and pepper to taste. (I find that this recipe doesn’t need any added salt and pepper, but that’s just my preference.)
• Heat mixture over low heat, gently tossing (and adding more pasta water as needed if mixture becomes dry), until just heated through.
• Serve pasta with your freshly, grated Parmesan cheese.

While I have made this recipe exactly as written before, some nights I don’t bother with the mixing it all together with the reserved pasta water that I forgot to reserve and I just have the troops scoop up their pasta and put the peas and pancetta on separately. On this particular night, I also happened to serve this dish with a cornucopia of fall fruit: persimmon, pomegranate, pears and apples. What did the children think of the persimmon you might ask? Not much.

Yield: Enough for a family of 5 with a bit leftover…perfect for a thermos in a lunchbox the next day.