What’s burning: Farfalle con Piselli e Pancetta

The late stand-up comedian-slash-social critic George Carlin once observed, “The caterpillar does all the work, but the butterfly gets all the publicity.”

You know, George was right. The poor lumbering caterpillar did all of the heavy lifting, actually lots of eating, just so he/she could eventually go into total isolation encased in a silky cocoon awaiting his/her rebirth as a butterfly, then flutter away with a whole new identity — kinda like entering the witness protection program.

My alter ego, short-order cook, Lazy Person (LP), a big fan of Carlin’s by the way, has a metamorphosis of his own going on in the galley involving butterflies of a different sort.

What LP has captured in his culinary net is what you may know as bow-tie pasta, but here in Italy, where they come from, they’re known as farfalle (butterflies). And some of the very best you can consume are readily available in the pasta section of your grocery store. They’re from the pasta house of Garofalo, a landmark brand from Gragnano in the province of Naples, that’s been making exquisite strands and other shapes — like the farfalle — from semola di grano duro (durum wheat flour) since 1789.

By adding some peas and pancetta into our pasta-based chrysalis, these golden-yellow butterflies will explode out of their metamorphosis, dripping wet in a very tasty way.

If you’ll grab an apron AND a net, we can head into the kitchen and give LP a hand with this fluttering dish. It should take us less that 30 min. to “capture.”

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Step-1: Fill a medium size pot with water, cover, fire up to HIGH and bring to a boil.

Step-2: In a skillet, add the olive oil and butter and fire up to MEDIUM to melt and merge.

Step-3: Add 2-3 peeled onion sections to the skillet, brown to a paper-bag color then remove.

Step-4: Add the pancetta to the skillet and let it cook until it browns.

Step-5: Add the peas and 1/3 glass of white wine to the skillet and continue cooking for 10 min.

Step-6: Pasta water is now boiling. Uncover pot and add 1 tbsp. of sea salt to the water and drop the pasta down. Let it cook for 10 min.

Step-7: Pasta is now al dente. Drain and place back into the skillet with the peas and pancetta mixture.

Step-8: Add 2 tbsp. of grated cheese and sauté for 1 min.

Step-9: Plate on two dishes, sprinkle each with 1 tbsp. of the remaining grated cheese and serve with crunchy artisan nut bread.

Step-10: BUON APPETITO!

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Recommended Wine Pairing: Kalterer See Weinland DOC – Ritterhof Winery – Lago di Caldaro/Kalterer See (BZ), Italy

Situated in the village of Kaltern (Caldaro), in the heart of the South Tyrol of Italy’s northernmost region of the Alto Adige, you’ll find the small Ritterhof Winery run by the Roner family. One of many wineries that dot the famous Weinstraße (Wine Road), Ritterhof produces and markets three separate lines of bottled grape: Ritterhof, Crescendo and Kalterer See (Lago di Caldaro). It is the latter line’s namesake blend that we find our wine pairing.

The Kalterer See Weinland DOC is a blend primarily of Vernatsch with subtle additions of Lagrein and Pinot Nero. Ruby red to dark garnet in color, this wine has a pleasant, distinct fruity bouquet. On the palate, it’s dry, mild and harmonious with hints of bitter almonds.

SALUTE!

©The Palladian Traveler | ©Tom Palladio Images

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