Orecchiette Pasta and Pancetta And Radicchio

Orecchiette pasta with pancetta, garlic, and radicchio. This good, 10 minute pasta recipe is so simple, light and suited to Summer. The sauce is made while the pasta is boiling so it's incredibly easy, fuss-free and full of flavour.

Because we all need quick, weeknight dinners!

We lovee us some quick pasta. We are obsessed with pasta so when we want something quick, good and fast pasta is the first thing to pop into our head the majority of the time.

We also love how versatile pasta is and how drastically different one dish to the other can be. Take our White truffle cacio e pepe and our Broccoli pasta with chilli, garlic and parmesan for example. Both completely good FAST but totally different in flavours and textures!

Cooking with usual pasta shapes is so much fun and it's a great way to spruce up simple pasta dishes. For this quick weeknight meal we chose orecchiette pasta with pancetta, garlic and radicchio.

What Is Orecchiette Pasta?

Orecchiette are small, round pasta shapes from Puglia in southern Italy. It translates as little ears and is traditionally made by pressing your thumb into the pasta to create the ear shape. We dunno about you but we prefer not to look at our bowl of pasta as little ears covered in sauce (a little creepy).

Instead, we look down at the cute little shapes and think how pretty this dish is with the bright purple radicchio.

How To Make Orecchiette Pasta and Pancetta And Radicchio – Step By Step

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the orecchiette pasta according to packet instructions until al dente.

Tip: We use dried orecchiette pasta because it takes longer to cook and gives us time to make the sauce. If you are using fresh pasta (bought refrigerated in the supermarket) it will cook much faster so add it when the sauce is almost done.

Add the pancetta to a large pan and fry until it's starting to brown. Finely slice the garlic cloves and add them to the pancetta, fry until the garlic is beginning to turn golden (photo 1-2).

Add the stock and simmer the sauce for 2-3 minutes until it has reduced slightly. Once the pasta is ready, drain and add it to the sauce (photos 3-4).

Add the chopped radicchio and parmesan and mix through then serve (photos 5-6).

P.S Make sure you don't add the radicchio too soon into the pasta as it loses it's lovely vibrant purple colour and turns brown when cooked.

Swaps

• Substitute the radicchio with baby spinach.
• Peas added to the pasta would add extra freshness
• You can substitute the orecchiette or any short pasta shape
• Add some fresh chilli or red pepper flakes for a spicy kick
• Try adding fresh herbs such as parsley or basil
• Lemon zest would add a nice zing

Quick Pasta Recipes You Might like

• Smoked salmon carbonara
• Pasta Amatriciana – Bucatini, Tomato and Guanciale
• Pasta with artichokes and peas
• Creamy butternut squash pasta
• Sun dried tomato pasta with roasted red pepper
• Broccoli pasta with chilli, garlic and parmesan

And that's it, so simple and easy. If you don't like radicchio because of it's bitter flavour then you can find some suggestions above to replace it and other variations you could make to the pasta. This kind of meal is so versatile and is meant to be adapted with your favourite flavours, veggies, herbs and spices. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Makes 4 people

• 12 oz (350g) orecchiette pasta
• 1/2 small radicchio (roughly chopped)
• 1/2 cup (120ml) chicken stock
• 3.5 oz (100g) smoked pancetta (cubed)
• 2 garlic cloves (thinly sliced)
• 1 tbsp parmesan (freshly grated)
• salt and pepper to season
• olive oil (if needed)

Method

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the orecchiette pasta according to packet instructions until al dente.

2. Add the pancetta to a large pan and fry until it's just starting to brown, there should be enough fat in the pancetta but if needed add a little drizzle of olive oil to the pan.

3. Finely slice the garlic cloves and add them to the pancetta, fry until the garlic is just beginning to turn golden

4. Add the stock and simmer the sauce for 2-3 minutes until it has reduced slightly. Once the pasta is ready, drain and add it to the sauce

5. Add the chopped radicchio, parmesan and a pinch of salt and pepper and mix through. Serve.

Kitchen notes

• We use dried orecchiette pasta because it takes longer to cook and gives us time to make the sauce. If you are using fresh pasta (bought refrigerated in the supermarket) it will cook much faster so add it when the sauce is almost done.
• Make sure you don't add the radicchio too soon into the pasta as it loses it's lovely vibrant purple colour and turns brown when cooked.

Swaps

• Substitute the radicchio with baby spinach.
• Peas added to the pasta would add extra freshness
• You can substitute the orecchiette or any short pasta shape
• Add some fresh chilli or red pepper flakes for a spicy kick
• Try adding fresh herbs such as parsley or basil
• Lemon zest would add a nice zing

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