Pancetta Pasta (Quick 4 Ingredient Recipe) (2024)

FAQs

How long should I cook pancetta for? ›

in a medium pan (nonstick, if you have one), heat a drizzle of olive oil on medium-high until hot. Add the pancetta. Cook, stirring occasionally, 4 to 5 minutes, or until lightly browned and cooked through. Leaving any browned bits (or fond) in the pan, transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.

Pancetta is an Italian type of bacon produced from pork belly which is seasoned and dry cured. Use it in recipes such as our spaghetti carbonara, or in a traditional Bolognese ragu. A little crisp-fried pancetta can add richness to a macaroni cheese or saltiness to a warm salad.

If you want crispy pancetta slices, more like bacon, you can cook the slices in a skillet, again starting with a lower heat and turning up after some of the fat renders out. The pancetta tends to curl which can look pretty cool but is a little more challenging to get crispy all over.

Pasta products contain milled wheat, water, and occasionally eggs and/or optional ingredients. Pasta manufacturers typically use milled durum wheat (semolina, durum granulars, and durum flour) in pasta production, although farina and flour from common wheat are occasionally used.

How much water should you use? Use about 4 quarts of water for every 1 pound of pasta. In general, the more pasta you are cooking, the more water you should use to prevent the pasta from clumping up too much in the pot.

So pancetta is cured and unsmoked, while bacon is cured and smoked, but both need to be cooked before being eaten. They can be used interchangeably in dishes, depending on whether or not you want a smoky flavor.

In Italy, pancetta is commonly served as a sliced meat, sliced thin and eaten raw. It can also be used in carbonara pasta (although guanciale is generally regarded as more traditional).

Pancetta is dry-cured and fully aged, so it can be thinly sliced and eaten raw. You can also cook thin slices the same way you cook bacon in a pan if you want to eat alongside eggs with toast. Dicing and slowly rendering the fat out of it is a common way to start many recipes.

However, after you open a container of either sliced or diced Pancetta, it's necessary to store it in a sealed container to prevent outside air from getting in. When properly stored in the refrigerator, the meat should last for up to 2 weeks.

Cook for 1 minute each side or until the fat sizzles and looks ready to eat. The meat will become more firm as it cooks, gently press with your thumb, the more spring back you get the hotter the protein cells have expand which means the more well done your meat is.

Is pancetta healthier than bacon? ›

Pancetta — when made the traditional way in Italy with salts and spices and no nitrates or artificial preservatives — can be a healthier alternative to bacon because it is less processed and usually lower in fat and calories.

When you cook pasta, 2 ounces of dry pasta per person is a good rule of thumb to follow.