Orecchiette with Spring Peas, Pancetta and Pea Shoots
I couldn’t resist the peas. This bowl of pasta is the essence of early spring, a season which brings a conflicting message of cold rain with gentle sunshine. Crispy pancetta swathed in cream and cheese provides winter warmth, while sweet peas and delicate pea tendrils add earthy fragility, an early hint from a garden awakening from its winter slumber. No worries if you can’t get your hands on pea tendrils, which are the wispy shoots of the snow pea plant. This dish is equally delicious simply with pancetta and peas. And for that matter, if you can’t get your hands on fresh peas, then frozen are just fine, too.
Orecchiette with Spring Peas, Pancetta and Pea Shoots
Serves 4
1 pound orecchiette
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
6 ounces pancetta, finely diced
2 cups fresh peas (or defrosted frozen peas)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups pea shoots, loosely packed
1/3 cup finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese, plus extra for garnish
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add orecchiette and cook until al dente according to package instructions. Drain.
While the pasta is cooking, heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add pancetta. Sauté until colored and lightly golden, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel. Drain all but 1 tablespoon fat from the skillet. Add fresh peas (if using), garlic and red chili flakes. Sauté until fragrant, 1 minute. Return pancetta to the pan. Add cream, stock, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Simmer until cream is slightly reduced and thickened, and peas are tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. (If using defrosted frozen peas, add to the cream after it is reduced and thickened and simmer until peas are heated through). Remove from heat and add the orecchiette to the skillet. Stir to combine. Add the pea shoots, half of the cheese and mint and stir again. Serve immediately with additional cheese for garnish.
What an irresistible spring pasta! Simple and seasonal, just perfect!
The perfect spring pasta post!
This dish is really beautiful and perfectly season! A marvelous combination.
cheers,
Rosa
You are right, this is perfect and that lovely line about the conflicting message of cold rain and warm sun! lovely.. c
Love me some spring peas. Yum.
This is my kind of rustic elegant pasta dish that lets you know Spring is here.
a wonderful simple spring recipe, but importantly for me you have just reminded me to sow some more peas for using as shoots! Thank you 🙂
So perfect for spring. Well just so perfect really.
This is utterly gorgeous! And we love making homemade orecchiette too! 🙂
Dang you Californians and your early spring greens! I won’t see pea tendrils here for a t lead another month….grrrrr. When I finally do, I am making this dish tout de suite!
This pasta looks delicious – the addition of pancetta is genius. MMMM.
Mmm, what a great combination of spring flavors! Man I love anything with peas come April
What a beautiful pasta dish and what a beautiful blog! Subscribing to your updates now 🙂
A beautiful pasta dish to celebrate spring… love fresh peas and pea shoots. I guess great minds think alike- you must check out my latest post!
Mint, peas and pancetta – what a great combination! I would love to try this for myself, Lynda. It’s a lovely warm weather dish to celebrate the newly arrived spring vegetables.
This looks so fresh and spring-like! We are hosting a pea-themed linky party over at 2sisters2cities.com as part of our Fresh Produce Tuesday series. I would love if you linked up your recipe!
-m
We had this with fresh peas & mint from the garden and it was superb. We had no broth, but a little extra cream worked perfectly. And we used a small amount of prosciutto instead of pancetta. With a Loire sauvignon, perfection!