This is another easy pasta dish that can be pulled together in mere minutes. You can create the sauce in the time that it takes for you to heat the water and boil the pasta. This is a dish that I used to make when my children were small as at that time, my son was a picky eater but loved pasta in cream sauce. When my kids were young, and I needed a quick, filling meal, I often would throw together a quick meal by cooking packaged tortellini, throw them into a sauce made with heated heavy cream, grated cheese, and peas. I ever had leftovers when making this dish.

This is my adult version of pasta alla panna as I added crispy pieces of diced guanciale, baby peas, and goat cheese, creating a dish the entire family will love. I used farfalle, or butterfly pasta in this version as it is another way to get kids to try this dish. What child wouldn’t want butterfly pasta? I like to serve this dish with grated Parmesan cheese and cracked black pepper for the adults. Because many of the ingredients in this dish are salty to begin with, do not add additional salt until the dish has been completed. Guanciale is a type of Italian cured pork made from the cheeks of a pig, but if you cannot find it, pancetta or even bacon would work out okay. I added a sprinkling of lightly toasted pine nuts as I like to add texture to my dishes and I have them in my kitchen, but you can certainly skip the pine nuts if you like.

Buon Appetito!
Deborah Mele 2019

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Pasta With Peas, Guanciale, & Goat Cheese

Yield: Serves 6

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

An easy pasta dish that can be pulled together in mere minutes that the whole family will enjoy

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Ingredients

• 5 Ounces Diced Guanciale or Pancetta
• 2 Garlic Cloves, Minced
• 1 Pound Dried Pasta (Farfalle, Penne, Fusilli, or Rigatoni)
• 1 1/2 Cups Heavy Cream
• 1 1/2 Cups Baby Peas
• 3 Ounces Soft Goat Cheese

To Serve:

• Cracked Black Pepper
• Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/3 Cup Lightly Toasted Pine Nuts (Optional)
• 4 Tablespoons Finely Chopped Fresh Parsley

Instructions

1. Heat a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.
2. While the water is heating, cook the guanciale in a large frying pan over medium heat until lightly browned.
3. Remove all but 1 tablespoon of fat leaving the guanciale in the pan.
4. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, another minute or two.
5. Add the cream, peas, and goat cheese and bring to a boil, whisking as it warms to blend the cheese into the cream.
6. Reduce the sauce to a simmer.
7. Cook the pasta until it is "al dente", the drain.
8. Dump the pasta into the pan with the sauce and bring heat to high, stirring continuously until the sauce coats the pasta, about 3 minutes.
9. Serve, sprinkling psta with pine nuts and parsley.
10. Offer cracked black pepper and grated Parmesan cheese at the table for those who want it.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 612Total Fat: 48gSaturated Fat: 23gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 21gCholesterol: 97mgSodium: 969mgCarbohydrates: 33gFiber: 4gSugar: 5gProtein: 14g

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