Pasta Piselli e Pancetta is an easy Italian recipe, perfect for a quick weeknight meal. The sweet green peas and onions are a great complement to the salty pancetta and parmesan cheese.
Table of contents
Ingredient Notes
- Pasta- I usually use ditalini pasta (preferably ditali rigati), however, you can also use shells, pipe or pipette rigate, orecchiette or farfalle.
- Extra virgin olive oil- For a richer tasting dish, consider substituting half of the olive oil for butter.
- Pancetta- I prefer a good quality pancetta from a specialty store, but the pre-cut version I used here is completely acceptable. If you can't find pancetta, substitute with slab bacon or thick cut bacon.
- Onion- I used 1 small onion in the recipe depicted rather than half of a medium onion. Any white or yellow onion would work, as well as, spring onions or shallots.
- Peas- When in season, I like to use fresh, shelled green peas, rather than frozen peas.
- Cheese- You can substitute parmigiano reggiano cheese for pecorino romano or domestic parmesan, of course.
Recipe Steps
Bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Season generously with salt and prepare the sauce while the pasta cooks. First, brown the pancetta in olive oil in a large pan (1). Transfer the pancetta to a bowl, reserving the oil in the pan. Add additional olive oil to the pan and sauté the onions until softened and translucent (2).
Next, add the peas and some pasta water to the pan with the onions. Simmer until the peas are cooked through (3). Return the pancetta to the pan, add the cooked pasta, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a few more tablespoons of pasta water, as needed. Simmer to thicken the sauce, turn off the heat and stir in the grated cheese (4).
Tips and FAQs
- For a brothier version, add more pasta water or some chicken or vegetable broth.
- For a vegetarian version, simply omit the pancetta and add an extra tablespoon or two of olive oil or butter to compensate for reduced fat content.
- For a red sauce version, add leftover marinara sauce or tomato passata. Cook the raw tomato passata with the sautéed onions for about 20 minutes before adding the peas.
Pasta e Piselli translates to Pasta with Peas. This is a traditional Italian dish with many variations which may include pancetta or tomato sauce.
When preparing pasta and peas, you can boil the peas with the pasta during the last 1-2 minutes of cooking. To avoid over-cooking the peas, I suggest cooking the peas in the pan used to prepare the sauce separate from the pasta.
Related Recipes
- Ramp Pasta
- Fava Bean Ravioli
- Pasta with Mushrooms and Prosciutto
- Pasta with Ricotta and Peas
- Gnocchi with Mushrooms, Peas and Favas
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Pasta Piselli e Pancetta
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 3 servings
Description
Pasta Piselli e Pancetta is an easy Italian recipe, perfect for a weeknight meal. All you'll need are peas, onions, Italian bacon and cheese.
Ingredients
8oz (230g) ditalini pasta (preferably ditali rigati), or pasta of choice
4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, divided
4oz (115g) pancetta, cut into ¼ inch cubes
½ medium onion, diced
1 cup (125g) frozen green peas
¼ cup (20g) finely grated parmigiano reggiano cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Fill a large pot with water to cook the pasta in. Cover pot and turn heat to high.
- Meanwhile, heat a large pan over medium-low to medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and pancetta to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 7-10 minutes or until the fat renders and the pancetta is golden brown. Transfer pancetta to a bowl, reserving the fat in the pan.
- When water in pot comes to a boil, season with a generous amount of salt. The water should taste like the sea. Add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until 1-2 minutes short of al dente, Drain pasta, reserving about 1-2 cups of pasta water for the sauce.
- While the pasta cooks, add 2 more tablespoons of olive oil to the pan along with the chopped onion. Season with salt and pepper. Cook 3-5 minutes until soft and translucent. Add peas and ¼ cup of pasta cooking water. Bring to a simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes until the peas are tender.
- Add the cooked pasta, pancetta and remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the pan with the peas. Toss to combine. Add an additional ¼ cup of pasta cooking water, or more as needed, to create a sauce. Bring to a simmer and cook for a couple minutes, until the sauce is thickened with some extra liquid remaining. Remove from heat and stir in the grated cheese. Add additional salt and pepper, to taste, as needed. Thin sauce with additional pasta water if needed. Serve topped with grated cheese and cracked black pepper. Enjoy.
Notes
I usually use ditalini pasta (preferably ditali rigati), however, you can also use shells, pipe or pipette rigate, orecchiette or farfalle.
For a richer tasting dish, consider substituting half of the olive oil for butter.
If you can't find pancetta, substitute with slab bacon or thick cut bacon.
I used 1 small onion in the recipe depicted rather than ½ medium onion. Any white or yellow onion would work, as well as, spring onions or shallots.
When in season, I like to use fresh, shelled green peas, rather than frozen peas.
Pecorino romano cheese also works well in this recipe.
Double or triple this recipe to serve more people.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Saute, Boil
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ⅓ of pasta
- Calories: 675
- Sugar: 6g
- Sodium: 800mg
- Fat: 37g
- Saturated Fat: 9g
- Unsaturated Fat: 28g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 66g
- Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 20g
- Cholesterol: 30mg
Romain says
Lovely spring recipe. Can’t wait for peas to arrive.
Sabrina Russo says
Thanks! Me either 🙂