Pasta with pancetta, cavolo nero and lemon – parmesan and hazelnuts.
This pasta with cavolo nero, pancetta and lemon is wonderful. It is very simple, full of flavour and can be on the table in around 20 minutes.
Crisp pancetta, fried slowly so the fat renders out, forms the base of the dish and brings plenty of flavour. Together with parmesan and a little pasta water, it gives you a lightly creamy sauce that clings to the pasta.
The lemon adds freshness and lifts the dish, while the cavolo nero gives both bite and a gentle green depth. The toasted hazelnuts round it all off with a little crunch that works really well with the salty pancetta.
I like to use short pasta tubes such as rigatoni, where the pancetta can hide inside – it makes every mouthful that bit better. But you can easily use whichever pasta you prefer.
An easy, quick and truly flavourful pasta dish that calls for just a few ingredients – and that simply always works
Pasta with cavolo nero, pancetta and lemon
Ingredients
- 250 g pancetta, diced
- 400 g pasta
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 50 g parmesan, finely grated
- 1/2 lemon, finely grated zest and juice
- 12 leaves cavolo nero, roughly shredded
- 40 g toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
- Pasta water
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Parmesan, to serve
Method
- Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and fry the pancetta until golden and crisp. Let the fat render out and the pancetta brown slowly.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta for a couple of minutes less than al dente.
- If the pancetta has released a lot of fat, pour some of it off.
- Add the garlic and fry for about a minute.
- Add the pasta to the pan, scatter over the parmesan and add a good splash of pasta water and freshly ground black pepper. Let the pasta finish cooking in the pan for a couple of minutes. Stir as you go and add more pasta water if needed.
- Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, cavolo nero and hazelnuts. Toss together and heat through until the kale has just wilted – about 2 minutes.
- Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and serve with extra parmesan on top.
Nutrition
Premium
