Stephen's Five-Ingredient Pasta
From The Seasoned Life [1] by Ayesha Curry
Notes
Stephen was watching The Chew when he saw Michael Symon cook up a quick pasta for a five-ingredient, five minute challenge. A week or so later, it was his turn to make dinner, and he wanted to try out Michael’s dish. It didn’t go so well: He bought tomatoes instead of peppers and burned the egg noodles in the pot. But you know the motto: If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Now he’s a pro at making this dish, and it’s become his signature. Any time he’s in charge of dinner, it’s pretty much guaranteed that this is what we’ll be eating.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces egg noodles
8 ounces chopped pancetta (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 red bell peppers, seeded and diced
1 cup finely grated Parmesan
Generous handful of fresh basil leaves, larger leaves torn
Directions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook according to the package directions.
- Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the pancetta until nice and crisp, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to a bowl and pour off about half of the fat. (You should have about 1/4 cup fat left in the pan).
- Add the peppers and cook, tossing occasionally, until they are softened, about 5 minutes.
- Drain the noodles, saving 1/2 cup of the pasta water, and return the noodles to the large pot. Stir in the crispy pancetta and the peppers. Add about 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water and stir in the cheese, adding more of the pasta water if the pasta looks dry. Stir in the basil right before serving.
Source: Excerpted from The Seasoned Life, Copyright © 2016 by Ayesha Curry. Used with permission of Little, Brown and Company, New York. All rights reserved.
Information
- Category
- Pasta, Main Dishes
- Cuisine
- Italian
- Yield
- 4 to 6 servings