Pancetta & Tomato Linguine Recipe

I went grocery shopping today with a list in my hand and a dish in my mind.  Having gone to the same supermarket almost everyday, I know exactly where everything is placed.  So as I strolled towards the spot where they would place the first ingredient on my list, also the main ingredient, and could not find it, I panicked.  What am I supposed to do now! J wanted pasta and my mind went blank because I was so hung up on the surprise pasta I was going to cook for him.  After frantically circling the aisles a few times, I picked up a few random things and left.

Now, they were not entirely random things.  Since J wanted pasta, I picked up pancetta and roman tomatoes and thought, hey you can’t go wrong with these on pasta!  It turns out that I was right and sometimes, a simple pasta is all it takes to satisfy that craving.

Pancetta & Tomato Linguine (Serves 2):

8-10 oz Linguine or whatever pasta you like, linguine worked real well for me

100g Pancetta, sliced in 1cm strips

3 Roman Tomatoes, diced

1 Yellow Onion, diced

1 tsp Chili flakes

1 Tbs Garlic, minced

1/4 cup Red Wine

2 Tbs Basil, chiffonade *see below for instruction

1 Tbs Extra-virgin Olive Oil

Freshly grated Parmesan

Salt & Pepper

The prep time took slightly longer than I anticipated because of all the chopping involved.  The good thing is that most people already have these ingredients in the kitchen so it can be easily whipped up without leaving the comfort of your home!  You can also use bacon if you don’t have pancetta handy.

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil, salt generously and drizzle some olive oil into the water.  Cook linguine according to instruction until al dente.  Drain and set aside.
2. In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, saute bacon until browned or crispy.  Remove bacon to drain on a paper towel.  If there is an excess of oil in the pan, remove half of it before you proceed.
3. Add extra virgin olive oil and saute the onion and chili flakes.  Cook until translucent then add garlic and cook for 2 minutes.  Stir to avoid burning.
4. Add tomatoes and saute for 5 minutes, stirring from time to time, then deglaze pan with red wine and let it boil some more.  When the mixture reaches a thick, sauce-like consistency, turn the heat on low.
5. Add the drained pasta to the tomato mixture, toss, add basil and bacon, toss some more.  Grate parmesan, salt and pepper to taste.  Serve immediately.

*Chiffonade Instruction:

J once again demonstrated that he went to culinary school and I didn’t.  When I asked him what chiffonade meant he just walked into the kitchen and showed me (with a smirk on his face).  To “chiffonade” the basil, roll up the basil leaf from stem to tip like a cigar, then slice it thinly with the knife.  The basil should become thin ribbons, aka chiffonade.

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