Description

This is a wonderful dish that can be enjoyed as a main dish or as a side dish. It has a little bit of everything, pasta, veggies and meat, with a sprinkling of cheese.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. fettuccine, spaghetti or any tube pasta
• 1 c. pasta water, reserved
• 8 oz. pancetta, diced
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 10 oz. bag frozen peas
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• freshly squeezed juice from 1/2 lemon, optional

Steps

1. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil over medium heat. Add pasta; cook until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup pasta water.
2. Meanwhile, saute pancetta in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until golden and crisp, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined platter.
3. In the same saucepan, saute onions until softened, about 5 minutes. Add peas and garlic; saute 3 minutes. Stir in cheese, pasta and pancetta. Moisten pasta mixture with some of the reserved pasta water, to taste. Toss to incorporate. Season with salt and pepper, if necessary.