Pasta with Pancetta, Veggies and Lemon Cream Sauce
INGREDIENTS
4 oz chopped pancetta (substitute chicken, see my sautéed chicken recipe, if you don’t eat red meat or leave the meat out entirely to make it a veggie dish)
Olive oil*
1 tbsp. unsalted butter*
2 cloves of garlic, minced*
Assorted chopped veggies (this is a great recipe for using up what you already have on hand) – I like to use mushrooms, spinach, asparagus, red bell pepper, yellow onion and sun-dried tomatoes, but any combination of veggies will work.
Salt and pepper*
8-10 oz Pasta* (fusilli or penne work best for this recipe, but any kind of pasta will do)
2 shallots, minced*
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp grated lemon zest, plus 2 tbsp lemon juice*
Grated parmesan cheese*
Red pepper flakes*
DIRECTIONS
Sauté the pancetta in a large frying pan over medium-high heat, until crisp. Remove from the pan and set aside. Drain off any excess fat from the pan.
Add a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter to the hot pan. Add the garlic and onions, if using them, and sauté for 3-4 minutes until the onions are soft. If you’re only using garlic, only sauté for 1-2 minutes, to make sure the garlic does not burn. Add veggies, season with salt and pepper and sauté until the veggies are softened, but not completely wilted.
Meanwhile boil water for the pasta and cook according to the package directions. Reserve one cup of the cooked pasta water, to be used in the cream sauce.
Add a teaspoon of olive oil to a frying pan and heat over medium heat. Add the minced shallots, season with salt and pepper, and sauté for about 4 minutes, until the shallots are softened. Add the cream and grated lemon zest. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for about 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. The mixture should be slightly thick. Add the lemon juice and test the sauce for seasoning. Add salt and pepper if necessary.
Reduce the heat to low and add the pasta to the cream sauce and toss to coat, adding enough reserved pasta water to thin the sauce a bit. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Pour the pasta, with cream sauce, into the large pan with the veggies and add in the cooked pancetta and stir, carefully, to combine.
When serving, sprinkle each bowl of pasta with fresh grated parmesan cheese, red pepper flake (skip if you don’t like spicy) and fresh ground black pepper. Enjoy!
You can also serve this dish with marinara sauce or pesto, if you don’t care for cream sauce.
Wine Pairing
Chardonnay, Pinot Noir
Kid Version
For this meal, I’ll serve my kids pasta and any of the meat/veggies that they like. If you have picky eaters, I suggest serving them pasta with a little jarred marinara sauce and steamed broccoli on the side (or another veggie you know they like).
