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Ricotta, Guanciale & Pea Pasta

Italian food is all about using simple and good quality ingredients. I discovered this ricotta, guanciale and pea pasta recipe from the Italian legend, Marcella Hazan. While reading through her book “Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, this simple, five ingredient pasta caught my eye. In her recipe she uses bacon but all I had in my fridge was guanciale which worked perfectly in this pasta.

The pasta is coated in a rich, luscious and creamy sauce. I made this recipe using rigatoni, the peas get caught in each hole of the pasta resulting in a burst of sweetness in each bite. I couldn’t believe how simple and delicious this pasta was. It came together in under 20 minutes, and it reminded me of the classic Roman pastas. The sauce doesn’t have any cream in it, instead the creaminess comes from the fresh ricotta and pasta water. The use of guanciale and creamy ricotta reminded me of grica pasta from Rome. I highly recommend trying this pasta as it’s become my new favorite recipe. Since this pasta uses a handful of ingredients, make sure that you are using the best. Use a guanciale from Italy, organic peas and freshly made ricotta if you can find it. Fresh ricotta can often be found at Italian grocery stores.

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Ricotta, Guanciale & Pea Pasta

Ingredients

• 1 pound rigatoni (or fusilli or conchiglie)
• 1/4-pound guanciale (or pancetta or bacon), sliced into matchsticks
• 3 tbsp reserved guanciale fat
• 1 pound frozen organic peas (thawed)
• 1/4-pound fresh ricotta
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup pasta water
• freshly cracker black pepper
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano + more for serving

Directions

1. Slice the guanciale into 1/4 inch matchstick pieces. Add the guanciale to a large cold heavy bottom pan. Turn the heat to low and allow the fat to render. Once the guanciale is crisp, remove and set aside. Pour out the fat into a bowl and set aside.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook for two minutes less than what the package says. When the pasta is almost done, remove 1 cup of pasta water and set aside.
3. While the pasta cooks, make the sauce. Heat the same pan that the guanciale was cooking in to medium-low and add 3 tbsp of reserved fat. Add the guanciale and peas. Season with a big pinch of salt and fresh pepper. Add the al dente pasta, ricotta, butter and 1/2 cup pasta water. Add a good amount of freshly cracked pepper. Stir the sauce for 1-2 minutes until the sauce becomes creamy. If the sauce is too thick, add more pasta water. Off the heat stir in 1/3 cup Parmigiano Reggiano.
4. To serve, add freshly cracked pepper and Parmigiano Reggiano.