Orecchiette Pasta with Peas and Pancetta

This Orecchiette Pasta with Peas, Pancetta and Kale is both savory and bright and can be made in under 25 minutes!

I came up with this recipe as a way to use up some extra kale I had in my fridge. I love kale and peas and will happily put them in everything, but my kids and husband don’t feel the same way. In an attempt to make these delicious greens more appetizing to my family, I served them with pancetta, garlic, and lemon: three ingredients they all love. This recipe packs a healthy veggie punch that’s also incredibly delicious.

This Orecchiette Pasta with Peas and Pancetta is a beautiful dish. The kale, peas, and lemon add brightness, while the pancetta and parmesan are both savoury and salty. All these beautiful flavours are brought together with the reserved pasta water which creates a silky sauce when combined with all the other ingredients. This meal is delicious, healthy, and hearty, and best of all it all comes together in under 25 minutes.

TOTAL TIME

• Preparation Time – 5 minutes
• Cooking Time – 18 minutes
• Total Time – 23 minutes

INGREDIENTS FOR ORECCHIETTE PASTA WITH PEAS

All the ingredients for this Orecchiette Pasta are easy to source from any local grocer.

• 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 150 grams Pancetta
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 1 cup Parmesan
• 1/2 cup Sweet peas
• 1/2 cup Pasta Water
• 1/2 Lemon
• 1 Box Orecchiette Pasta (~500g)
• 4 cups Baby Kale

CAN I MAKE THIS WITH ANOTHER KIND OF PASTA?

You can make this delicious meal with any pasta you wish, but I’d suggest using something short that will grab the sauce well. Fusilli, penne rigate, or gemelli would all work in this dish.

WHAT IS PANCETTA?

Pancetta is similar to American bacon. However, while bacon is smoked and purchased raw, pancetta is salt cured and dried, which means it is safe to eat without being cooked. Pancetta is a beautiful product that originates in Italy, but is very easy to find in most grocery stores. You can buy it in larger chunks or pre diced in most deli departments. I like to save myself some time and purchase it pre diced.

CAN I MAKE THIS VEGETARIAN?

If you’d like to make this delicious meal vegetarian you can. I would suggest taking all the same steps, simply leaving out the pancetta. You can cook the garlic in olive oil without the pancetta before adding the rest of the ingredients to it. The final dish will have a different flavour, but I promise you that it will still be delicious.

INGREDIENT SUBSTITUTIONS

CAN I SUBSTITUTE ANOTHER LEAFY GREEN FOR BABY KALE?

If you’d like, you could use baby spinach, broccoli rabe, or arugula instead of kale in this recipe. Each of them has a slightly different taste, but all would be healthy and delicious in this recipe.

CAN I SUBSTITUTE PRE GRATED PARMESAN FOR FRESH PARMESAN?

Definitely not. Pre grated Parmesan is an entirely different product than fresh Parmesan. Fresh Parmesan is a beautiful sharp hard cheese that I use in almost all of my pasta recipes. It has a salty tang that is the perfect addition to any pasta dish, and adds a wonderful flavour to this pesto. Pre packaged Parmesan is processed and packed with chemicals that keep it shelf stable. It tastes nothing like fresh.

CAN I USE BACON INSTEAD OF PANCETTA?

If you can’t find pancetta, I would not suggest using bacon. As said above, pancetta has a different flavour than bacon, and substituting one for the other will change the flavour of this dish. You could substitute if you wish, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

CAN I USE ANOTHER KIND OF CHEESE INSTEAD OF PARMESAN?

You need to use a hard sharp cheese in this recipe. If you’d like to substitute Parmesan for something else, you could use Pecorino or Grana Padano, both of which are delicious sharp cheeses.

I FORGOT TO RESERVE THE PASTA WATER! IS THERE A SUBSTITUTION?

The addition of pasta water is important in this meal. The pasta water adds additional salt and flavour to the dish, while the starch aids the ingredients in clinging to the pasta. You can certainly substitute regular water if you forget to reserve pasta water, however the result will not be as silky and sumptuous.

EQUIPMENT FOR ORECCHIETTE PASTA WITH PEAS AND PANCETTA

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Below is a list of the main equipment/kitchen tools needed to make this delicious dish:

• Heavy Bottomed Pan – My most used pan by far is my Le Creuset Braising Pan. It is made of heavy cast iron and coated in ceramic as all Le Creuset cast iron pans are. It’s large and deep which makes it perfect for everything from frying to making sauces. I can’t recommend it enough.

• Pot

• Lemon Juicer

• Wooden Spoon

• Kitchen Aid Food Processor – I use my Kitchen Aid Food Processor whenever I need to to finely chop and puree vegetables or a sauce. It works beautifully to chop the pancetta mixture into a fine mince if desired.
  

COOKING DIRECTIONS FOR ORECCHIETTE PASTA

This Orecchiette Pasta with Peas and Pancetta can be prepared in under twenty five minutes. It is as simple to prepare as it is delicious, provided you follow a few rules:

1. Only use freshly grated Parmesan.
2. Put the pasta on to cook before you start to cook the pancetta.
3. Make sure to reserve some pasta water for your sauce.

MAKE AHEAD STORAGE

There is nothing you can make in advance for this Orecchiette Pasta with Peas and Pancetta.

This delicious pasta can be stored in the fridge for up to four days, and can be frozen in an airtight container.

FINISHED DISH

Enjoy your amazing Orecchiette Pasta with Peas and Pancetta!

OTHER QUICK DISHES

Creamy Chicken Prosciutto Fettuccine

Pesto Sausage Ravioli Recipe

Shrimp and Scallop Pasta with Lemon

Instant Pot Lemon Saffron Risotto

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?

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Did you make this Orecchiette Pasta with Peas? Let us know in the comments below if it was as quick as we said it would be!