Pasta alla Chitarra with Pancetta and Peas

Preparing pasta alla chitarra with other delicious ingredients like pancetta and fresh Spring peas is simply amazing. This dish is quick to prepare and packed with tons of flavor. Give it a try and let me know what you think.
Prep Time1 hr 30 minsTotal Time1 hr 30 mins

Ingredients

Ingredients
 3.50 oz Red Onion, sliced
 2 tsp Fresh Garlic, minced (about 2-3 cloves)
 1 tbsp Flat-Leaf Parsley, finely chopped
 5 oz Pancetta
 6 oz Fresh Peas
 10 oz Crushed Tomatoes
 as needed, Extra Virgin Olive Oil
 to taste, Kosher Salt
 to taste, Black Pepper, ground
 as needed, Ricotta Salata

Directions

Prepare the Dish

Start by thinly slicing the red onion, then finely chop the garlic cloves and the flat leaf parsley. Cut the pancetta into half inch dice as reserve all items.

Blanch the peas in salted, boiling water for one minute. Shock them in ice water, then drain the blanched peas. Gather up the reserved items.

Place the diced pancetta in a saute pan over medium-high heat and cook until the fat has rendered and each piece is nice a crispy. Reserve the cooked pancetta in a bowl, but don’t drain the pan. Use the rendered fat to saute the remaining ingredients.

Add the onions to the pan with the pancetta fat and saute until they are nice and soft and slightly caramelized. If the pan is a bit dry go ahead and added some extra virgin olive oil, then add the minced garlic and cook until it’s softened up.

Next, add the crispy pancetta and saute everything over medium heat for a minute. Now, add the crushed tomatoes and the blanch peas.

While the sauce is simmering away drop your chitarra pasta into some salted boiling water and cook for about 2 minutes. Once the chitarra pasta is ready, drain it, then add it to your saute pan with the delicious simmering sauce. Give the pan a toss to combine everything. Feel free to add some of the pasta water if the sauce seems too tight.

Finally, add the chopped parsley and season your pasta with a little bit of salt and freshly ground pepper. Give the pan one more toss to combine everything, then plate up your pasta chitarra.

Finish the dish off with some crumbled ricotta salata and you’re done!

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