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Ingredients for Pasta with Homemade Pesto and Pancetta

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Raise your hand if you love homemade pesto? How about pasta with homemade pesto and pancetta? Yeah, now we’re talking! Confession time: I never really cared for pesto, and the store-bought varieties especially always tasted a little insipid to me. Tonight, I received a nice package in the mail from my cousin with two different types of pasta for me to try out. The first type is trecce pasta which is a really cute swirly pasta shape which is what I used for this recipe. You can use any short pasta, such as cavatelli, casarecce, or fusilli. The pasta she gave me is multi-colored so I wanted to try out a different type of sauce instead of tomato and I got it into my head that a homemade pesto could work really well. For this pasta with homemade pesto recipe, I decided to add a bit more oomph with some fried pancetta and a bit of crushed red pepper, but you can omit that if you’d like a vegetarian version. The pesto and pancetta is a truly heavenly combination that works just so well with the pasta for the ultimate comforting bowl of goodness.Serves: 4-6 Cost: $ Skill Level: Easy Time to Make: 30 minutes2 cups fresh basil leaves 6 cloves garlic 6 tablespoons pine nuts 5 ounces freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese 1 cup extra virgin olive oil Salt and pepper to taste4 ounces diced pancetta 2 cloves garlic 16 ounces trecce pasta (or any short pasta) ⅓ cup reserved pasta cooking water 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil, if necessary Salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to tasteBring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the pasta instructions and reserve ⅓ cup of the pasta cooking water. Drain and set aside. Thinly slice the 2 garlic cloves and set aside. Reserve a few basil leaves for garnish.As the pasta is cooking, prepare the pesto. Add the basil leaves, garlic cloves, pine nuts, and cheese and pulse until coarsely chopped. With the motor running, slowly add the oil until incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper to taste.Add the diced pancetta to a large skillet, and turn the heat to medium. Cook, stirring regularly, until the pancetta is browned and crispy and the fat has rendered, about 8 minutes. Remove two teaspoons of the pancetta and set aside for garnish. To the skillet, add the thinly sliced garlic cloves and cook for 1-2 minutes until beginning to brown. Do not burn the garlic. Season with a bit of crushed red pepper.Add the reserved pasta cooking water to the skillet and scrape up any browned bits stuck to the bottom. Add the pasta and toss to combine. Pour the prepared pesto over and toss to combine. Cook for 2-3 minutes until warmed through.Divide the pasta between bowls and sprinkle with the reserved pesto and a few reserved basil leaves. Enjoy!