MUMMAS COUNTRY KITCHEN'S PANCETTA, PEA AND LEMON CASARECCE
Helen Vlahakis of Mummas Country Kitchen has whipped up this easy pancetta pasta celebration for cool winter nights. “Salumi Australia have such fabulous products,”she says, “it was hard to pick a favourite recipe!”
Ingredients :
450g dried casarecce pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
250g Salumi Australia Pancetta Affumicata, diced
1 medium brown onion, sliced
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup chicken stock
2 cups frozen peas
Juice of half a lemon
1 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves, finely chopped, plus a little extra to garnish
Salt, freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup pecorino cheese, grated
Method:
Cook the pasta in plenty of salty, boiling water until al dente.
In the meantime, place the oil in a large frypan and add the pancetta. Saute over a high heat until the pancetta is crispy, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and saute for a further 3 minutes or so. Add the garlic and stir until lovely and fragrant.
Pour in the chicken stock and peas and bring to a boil before lowering the heat to medium. Cook the peas for 5 minutes until cooked through. Add the lemon juice, half the mint, salt and a generous few dashes of black pepper and stir to incorporate.
Once the pasta is ready, reserve one cup of the pasta water and drain the rest. Add the pasta to the pancetta mixture and add half the pecorino along with ¾ cup of pasta water. Stir until the sauce thickens, adding a little pasta water at a time until the dish is creamy.
To serve, mix through the other half of the mint leaves, add a few more dashes of black pepper and scatter over the remaining mint leaves and pecorino.
