Pasta With Pancetta And Tomato Sauce Recipes

Steps:

• Cook linguine in pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain, reserving 1 cup liquid. Return pasta to pot.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic; stir 30 seconds. Add pancetta and crushed red pepper; sauté until pancetta is crisp, about 4 minutes. Add tomatoes; sauté until soft, about 4 minutes.
• Transfer tomato mixture to pot with pasta. Add 3/4 cup cheese and 1/3 cup basil. Toss over medium heat until cheese melts and sauce coats pasta, adding cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls if dry. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl. Sprinkle with basil. Serve remaining cheese alongside.

Steps:

• Add the pancetta to a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil and saute until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato puree. Simmer uncovered over medium-low heat until the sauce thickens slightly and the flavors blend, about 15 minutes. Season the sauce with salt, to taste.
• Meanwhile, boil the linguine in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.
• Toss the linguine with the sauce in the skillet, adding some of the reserved cooking liquid until the pasta is moist but being careful not to dilute the sauce. Toss with the cheese. Season with salt, to taste.

Steps:

• Boil the potatoes until fork tender (not mushy). As soon as they are done, remove from the water and place in a dish. Remove the skin from the potatoes using a sharp knife or fork. Cut the potatoes into pieces and process the peeled, hot potatoes through a food mill using the medium disk.
• Place a mound of flour, about 2 1/2 cups to start, on your work surface (a floured board). Place all of the processed potatoes on top of the flour. Knead the flour/potato mixture with your hands until the dough is smooth; free of lumps, but yet still a little sticky. This recipe does not lend itself to making the dough in the food processor or mixer. Keep adding flour as necessary to obtain the desired consistency. The amount of the flour needed depends on how much water is in the potatoes, the moisture in the air, etc. Sometimes it can take up to 4 cups to obtain the right consistency. Keep kneading until it is right.
• After kneading the dough, place it under a dry kitchen towel to keep it warm. Immediately start making the gnocchi. This dough must be used right away. Cut a small piece off of the dough. Roll the piece into a "log" that is approximately 12 to 16 inches long. The log should be about 1/2-inch in diameter. You do not want it too wide or the gnocchi get too "fat." Cut the "log" into pieces about 1-inch long. You will end up with about 12 to16 gnocchi per log. The next step is to form the gnocchi.
• Take a fork in your left hand (if you are right handed), and hold it straight up with the tines facing towards the ceiling. With your index finger of your right hand, take 1 piece of gnocchi (the 1-inch pieces that you cut above), and starting at the top of the fork, roll the piece down the inside tine of the fork. This should be done with firm pressure (not too firm as to smash the gnocchi, but firm enough to roll the piece down the fork and leave an indentation on the gnocchi). When you get to the base of the tines, release the gnocchi and let it drop to a floured tray. The "completed" gnocchi should be marked with the fork tines on 1 side of it and have a slight indentation from your index finger on the other side of it. This shape and marking allow the pasta to "catch" the sauce when you serve it.
• Proceed with all of the dough and make each piece as directed. This goes very fast once you get the hang of it. Let the pasta sit on the floured trays on you counter until ready to serve. However, serving time should be within 4 to 5 hours of making the gnocchi. Otherwise they will dry out and get tough.
• To serve, boil the gnocchi in lots of boiling, salted water. As soon as the pasta rises to the top, it is done. (This is also very quick). Drain the cooked gnocchi in a colander or strainer. Place the cooked pasta in a serving platter and top/mix with the sauce.
• Heat olive oil in saucepan over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add the chopped pancetta, red pepper flakes and parsley. Cook until the pancetta is cooked through and is slightly brown. Add the garlic; cook for another 2 minutes.
• Process the tomatoes with their juice in the food processor. Pulse the tomatoes briefly until they are coarsely chopped. You do not want them to puree. Add to the cooked ingredients in the saucepan. Add salt to taste. Continue cooking on a low simmer for about 1 hour until the sauce has reduced and is somewhat thicker. You can keep cooking this for up to 3 hours. The longer you cook it, the thicker and richer it becomes. If you cook it too long, add water to reduce the thickness and you reach the desired consistency.

Steps:

• Add the pancetta to a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil and saute until golden brown, about 8 minutes.
• Add the onions and continue to cook for another 20-minutes, or until the onions are deeply caramelized.
• .
• Add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
• In the meantime, drain the tomatoes in a strainer over a bowl, reserving the liquid.
• When the onions is caramelized, add the drained tomatoes,the tomato paste, capers and the basil and chives.
• Increase the heat to medium, and cook until the tomatoes begin to leave brown bits on the bottom of the pan.
• Then add the reserved tomato juice and water and use it to deglaze the pan. Cook for another 20 minutes to let the flavors meld.
• Taste to see if it needs extra seasoning.
• Meanwhile, boil the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes.
• Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.
• Toss the pasta with the sauce in the skillet, adding some of the reserved cooking liquid until the pasta is moist but being careful not to dilute the sauce.
• Toss with the cheese. Season with pepper and salt, to taste.
• Tip:Cut the pancetta to really small pieces, the sauce turns out to be better if they are smaller.
• Use fresh or frozen Basil.

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until 1 minute shy of al dente. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking water.
• Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat for 15 seconds, then add the oil and heat until it thins out and easily coats the pan when swirled. Add pancetta and cook until it starts to render its fat, about 2 minutes. Add garlic, red pepper flakes and a large pinch of salt and pepper and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook until they burst, turn golden at the edges and shrivel up slightly, about 5 to 8 minutes.
• Add pasta to pan and toss with tomato-pancetta mixture; if the mixture looks dry add a little pasta cooking water a few tablespoons at a time. Cook over high heat until the pasta finishes cooking in the sauce. Add the butter and toss until it melts and coats everything.
• Divide pasta among warmed pasta bowls. Garnish with dollops of ricotta if desired, and top with a generous mound of fresh mint and scallions. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and more pepper before serving.