Pesto and Pancetta pasta....10 mins from start to finish (honest)

I'd say we eat pasta at least once a week. When I want something quick and easy, I mean literally one pan, not much chopping.....minimum washing up. And a complete fail safe as know the kids will always eat pasta.

As with most dishes I tweak/invent to my own liking, or more to the point whatever ingredients I have to hand. I feel empowered, totally in control, like I'm on an episode of 'Ready Steady Cook' cooking real food, few ingredients with minimal effort, haphazardly thrown together. Accidental experimentation at it's best.

Right, I know I have pancetta, a jar of green pesto, some fresh tomatoes (bordering on squashy) and a tub of creme fraiche (nearing it's use by date)....these are my key ingredients.

Serves 4

So I used - 
Half a standard 500g pack of pasta, I used fusilli
A glug of olive oil
Diced pancetta, half a pack 77g (I buy the packs divided in two, great standby and has a fantastic shelf life)
A clove of garlic, finely chopped
1-2 chestnut mushrooms, finely chopped
Fresh tomatoes roughly chopped, around 3-4 medium sized (skins removed)
2-3 tsp pesto (any, whatever you have to hand)
A glug of water 
2-3 tsp creme fraiche
salt & pepper 
Parmesan to serve

Boil pasta in a large pan of salted water.

In a sautee pan or small wok add a glug of olive oil, add pancetta. Cook on a medium to high heat, making it go slightly crisp. Add mushrooms and garlic and cook for a couple of mins for flavours top amalgamate.

Take skins off of the tomatoes by scoring skin and pouring boiling water over them in a bowl. Roughly chop and add to pan with pancetta, mushrooms and garlic. Cook down and reduce, at this point add some water to loosen sauce. 

Add pesto then creme fraiche, cook for a further 5 mins or so. 


Once pasta is al dente, add to sauce with a slotted spoon, taking with it some of the cooking pasta water to slacken to the reduced sauce. At this point taste and season well, add lots of freshly grated Parmesan.

Et voilà, there you have it.....a wonderfully simple bowl of pasta. Enjoy!




Anne