Penne Peas & Pancetta

Alex said he fancied pasta, as I hadn't been cooking it recently, (war on carbs and all), and I stumbled across the idea for this dish whilst glancing at my practically empty fridge.  I tend to always have pancetta or bacon in the fridge, along with tomatoes, spring onions and parmesan.  I also usually have a stash of frozen peas in the freezer.

FYI frozen peas are actually more fresh than ‘fresh’ peas in the supermarket chiller cabinets, as the frozen peas are frozen almost immediately once they are harvested, whereas the ‘fresh’ peas are around a week old and haven’t been preserved in any way.

I love the freshness, and the different textures of this dish.  It only takes as long as the pasta takes to cook, and it makes for a great weekday lunch or supper.  It can easily be made for one, two, four, six, eight or more.

This is what I used for the two of us:

pancetta, sliced into lardons

3 spring onions, sliced

2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced

8 cherry tomatoes, halved

handful of frozen peas

170ml half fat single cream (small pot on the supermarket shelves)

olive oil

parmesan, grated

parsley, finely chopped

200g of dried penne

Rather than wait for a pot of cold water to boil, simply boil a kettle.  Toss in a large pinch of sea salt and a glug of olive oil and cook the penne al dente.  Remember the pasta needs to be a little under cooked, as you should always add pasta to the sauce for a final minute of cooking.

Heat a non-stick pan for the pancetta lardons, and dry fry these.  You don't need any oil as the pancetta has a lot of fat which will be rendered down in the pan.  When the natural fats have been released, add the garlic and spring onions until soft.

Then add the halved cherry tomatoes, and wait for them to blister and burst.  Then add the half fat cream, a good few twists of freshly milled black pepper, and simmer.

Add a handful of frozen peas to the same boiling water that you are cooking the pasta in.  This should only take a matter of 2 or 3 minutes. 

Drain the pasta, add to the sauce, and stir through.  Add the grated parmesan and the chopped parsley and serve immediately.  You see it really is that quick....the quicker the meal....the more time you spend with the ones you love.

I like to serve this with a very simply dressed rocket and watercress salad……

….and of course with lashings of love….

xoxo