Stanley Tucci's Pancetta & Pea Pasta Casserole
Stanley Tucci's Pancetta & Pea Pasta Casserole is filled with a creamy béchamel, fresh parmesan cheese, sweet peas, and seared pancetta. You will love this dish! It's made of such simple ingredients but each ingredient is a complement to the others - pasta and béchamel are creamy, the peas are bright and fresh, the pancetta is smoky, and the onions and garlic get slightly sweet as you cook them in.-
Servings 10
Ingredients
- 16 ounces (1 lb.) farfalle pasta or other shortcut pasta
- olive oil, for cooking onions and tossing pasta
- 10 ounces pancetta (or bacon), diced
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 5 cloves garlic
- 2 cups frozen peas, thawed
- 1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
- 3 tablespoons butter, cut into cubes
- fresh lemon juice for topping
Béchamel Sauce
- 4 tablespoons butter, unsalted
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 2½ cups milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
Pasta
- Begin by making the pasta. In a very large pot of lightly salted water, cook the the pasta according to the package instructions.Once finished cooking, toss lightly with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil and set aside.
Béchamel Sauce
- While the pasta is cooking you can make the Béchamel Sauce.
- Begin by setting a small pan over medium heat. Add the butter and cook until bubbling, then make a roux by adding the flour and whisking until incorporated.
- Then add milk slowly and continue whisking until sauce begins to thicken.Once sauce thickens, add the salt and pepper, and whisk until smooth. Then remove from heat and set aside.
Pancetta and Onions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a casserole dish by lightly greasing with oil or butter. Set aside.Get frozen peas out to thaw.
- In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add the pancetta and cook for 5 minutes.
- Then reduce heat to medium and add diced onions, cover, and cook for another 5 minutes, or until onions are soft.
- Then add chopped garlic and cook for 1 minute while stirring, so garlic doesn't burn. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Pour pasta into casserole dish and then add the pancetta/onion mixture and the thawed peas. Pour the Béchamel on top of the pasta and mix well to combine.
- Top with the parmesan and small cubes of butter.
- Cover with tinfoil and bake for 20 minutes, or keep warm in oven until ready to serve.Once removed from oven, let dish stand for 5 minutes, then serve warm.
- When serving, this dish tastes great with a little fresh lemon juice squeezed on top.
- Enjoy!!