Kids are back in school! Hooray to finally getting some laundry done, food shopping without adding 50 unnecessary items, and sitting down for lunch. Ha! I'm so productive, right!?!?
Truth be told, I miss my little boogers. The house gets eerily quiet without the mischievous doings and contagious giggles they produce all day.
BUUUTTTTT, I pick them up very soon so let me take some time to tell you about this current dish that just well be my signature one if I ever were to make it on a Food Show.
Fresh Fettuccine alone would have me sold. But when you add in some sweet zucchini, olive oil, butter and crispy fried pork fat........no words, friends, just no words.
Hubby legit ate this 3 days in a row. And for him to do that, the anti-lefover man, it speaks volumes.
When planning this dish I kind of started out of nowhere. I knew I wanted fresh pasta and specifically I've been obsessed with Severino brand via Whole Foods. I ordered the egg fettuccine and continued to conceptualize. "What goes with egg?" I thought. Captain Obvious retorted.......bacon! Alright, so a pork product was next on the radar for me. Pancetta is basically my fancy version of bacon and who wouldn't a little bit of fancy at dinnertime, right? So then I knew I needed some brightness to cut the pork fat with, enter zucchini. Bonus points for the sweetness it brings which also counterbalanced the pork renderings. I add olive oil, butter and Parmigianno to almost all my pastas, so those additions were clearly banked upon.
With some white wine and chicken broth added in and then a hint of heat with red pepper flakes, what came together was outstanding. I don't know what I loved the most- the fresh pasta with hints of egg flavor, the pancetta so crisp it crackled in every bite, or the sweet zucchini reminding me of how close to summer we are. It was just so good.
We ate it for days and are already planning on making again in the coming weeks ahead. I highly encourage you to get cooking and make this for yourself, you'll be so thankful you did.
Now back to my other kids-are-at-school-activties, all of which are no way as enticing as this dish.
Enjoy.....
Fresh Fettuccine with shredded zucchini, crispy pancetta & Parmigiano
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients:
3 oz sliced uncured pancetta, roughly chopped ( I used Colameco's found at Whole Foods, diced would work as well)
1 shallot, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 C white wine
2 TBS low sodium chicken broth
1 TBS unsalted butter
2 zucchini, washed, shredded and wrung out with pepper towel to drain excess water
2 TBS olive oil, divided
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, optional but recommended
Kosher salt
freshly cracked pepper
freshly grated Parmigiano cheese
1 lb fresh fettuccine, preferably Severino via Whole Foods
reserved pasta water
Boil salted water a large pasta pot
Meanwhile, in a large saute pan, heat 1 TBS olive oil over medium heat. Add the pancetta pieces and a pinch of cracked pepper. Cook, stirring often, until pancetta is lighted browned and crispy, about 8 minutes. Remove to a separate bowl with a slotted spoon so that the oils/drippings remain in pan.
To the drippings, add the shallot and garlic. Lower flame to medium-low and cook until shallots are translucent and both are well softened, about 10 minutes.
Add the wine and turn flame to high. Bring to boil, then reduce flame to low and let simmer until wine has reduced, about 8-10 minutes.
Add in chicken broth, butter, zucchini and a hefty pinch of salt and cracked pepper. Turn flame to medium-low and stir. Let cook for about 3-5 minutes. At this time, I would add your pasta to boiling water.
Once pasta is done, add directly to sauce pan. Add the other 1 TBS olive oil, red pepper flakes and about 2-3 TBS-1/4 C water from the pasta pot. Toss well over low heat.
Plate each serving and top each generously with pancetta pieces and grated parmigianno.
Enjoy!
