WE’VE ALL HAD the experience
of not knowing what to order in a
restaurant and settling on that velvety,
creamy pasta that just sounds so good.
You order it, you like it, and you go
home satisfi ed. Also satisfi ed? The
restaurant owner, because you’ve just
helped the establishment’s bottom line
more than you know.
Restaurants make a killing on pasta.
The food costs are low, and in most
cases the preparation is relatively
uncomplicated. Before service, a cook
will have prepped all the add-ins and
perhaps parcooked the pasta. Once an
order comes in, all they have to do is
fi nish cooking the pasta, toss it with
the other ingredients in a hot pan, and
then pile it all on a plate—simple.
I wanted a foolproof recipe for a
restaurant-quality pasta dish that was
just as easy to make at home. And I
wanted to base it on my favorite spring
vegetable, asparagus.
Depending on how you cook
asparagus, it can reveal itself as grassy,
bitter, earthy, or even nutty. It was the
nutty side of asparagus that I was after;
once the vegetable was tossed with
crispy bits of salty pancetta (similar to
bacon but without the smokiness) and
a creamy sauce, its nut-
tiness would have a soft
place to land.
Browning asparagus is
the key to unlocking its
nutty notes. Rather than
use the dry heat of the
oven, I chose a skillet on
the stovetop. There, I
was able to slowly render
the pancetta into crispy,
browned bits; after transferring them
to some paper towels to drain and
crisp further, I had plenty of fl avorful
fat in which to cook the asparagus.
In just 5 minutes, the asparagus took
on lovely brown spots, and becausepancetta is cured with black pepper,
the fat added a faint peppery fl avor to
the asparagus. A bit of garlic provided
another savory note.
Next up: creating a creamy sauce.
Heavy cream worked fi ne, but I chose
mascarpone, a soft cheese that, when
heated gently and tossed
with the pasta, melts
into a beautiful creamy
sauce and adds a faintly
sweet tanginess. Some
salty, savory grated
Pecorino; a squeeze
of bright lemon juice;
and chopped fresh basil
rounded out the dish.
By choosing power-
house ingredients such as mascarpone
and pancetta and by coaxing nutty,
sweet, and complex fl avors out of my as-
paragus, I had made a restaurant-quality
supper that was easy to produce in any
home kitchen.6 COOK’S COUNTRY • APRIL/MAY 2019
We use mascarpone for
creamy texture and pancetta
for meaty flavor.Pasta with Pancetta
and Asparagus
Our goal: a restaurant-quality dish with a
weeknight-friendly cooking process. by Natalie Estrada
PENNE WITH PANCETTA
AND ASPARAGUS
Serves 4 to 6
Buy asparagus spears that are between
¼ inch and ½ inch in diameter. To trim
the asparagus, hold a spear with one
hand about halfway down the stalk;
with the thumb and index fi nger of
your other hand, grasp the spear about
1 inch from the bottom. Bend the
stalk until it snaps, discard the bottom
portion, and use the stalk as a guide
for cutting the rest of the asparagus
with your knife. Buy a hunk of pancetta
from the deli counter rather than pre-
sliced pancetta.4 ounces pancetta, cut into ½-inch
pieces
1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut
on bias into 2-inch lengths
1⁄8 teaspoon table salt, plus salt for
cooking pasta
1 garlic clove, minced
1 pound penne
8 ounces (1 cup) mascarpone cheese
1 ounce Pecorino Romano cheese,
grated (½ cup), plus extra for serving
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon pepper
1⁄3 cup chopped fresh basil- Cook pancetta in 12-inch nonstick
skillet over medium heat until lightly
browned and crispy, about 10 minutes.
Using slotted spoon, transfer pancetta
to paper towel–lined plate, leaving fat
in skillet. - Heat fat over high heat until just
smoking. Add asparagus and salt and
cook, without stirring, until just start-
ing to brown, about 3 minutes. Stir
and continue to cook until asparagus is
browned and tender, about 2 minutes
longer. Off heat, stir in garlic. - Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts water
to boil in large pot. Add pasta and
1 tablespoon salt and cook, stirring
often, until al dente. Reserve 1½ cups
cooking water, then drain pasta and
return it to pot over low heat. - Add mascarpone, Pecorino, lemon
juice, pepper, pancetta, asparagus, and
1 cup reserved cooking water to pot and
toss and stir vigorously to thoroughly
combine, about 1 minute. Let pasta
rest off heat for 3 minutes. Stir in basil.
Adjust consistency with remaining re-
served cooking water as needed. Season
with salt and pepper to taste. Serve,
passing extra Pecorino separately.