I took this before garnishing with Parmesan, but you get the idea.

Fettuccine with Peas, Asparagus, and Pancetta was the first cover recipe so far that didn’t have a curveball ingredient or technique.  No uncured bacon, no exotic cheese, none of that.  Just a straight-up pasta with a simple sauce and lots of spring-time zest to it. 

Is this a good thing or a bad thing?  Not sure.  Twalk amongst yuhselves.

The only ingredients even worth a passing note were the fresh shelled green peas and the pancetta.  I would have liked to use fresh peas — in fact, I’ve been meaning to since Carla Hall made them for Jacques Pepin on Top Chef.  But Matt was on grocery duty this week, and I had the option to sub frozen peas, so that experiment will have to wait.  (Trust me, we need Matt’s buy-in on this project, and sending him on a wild goose chase for ingredients is not the way to cement his support.) 

Pancetta, as the recipe noted, is a type of Italian bacon, and Matt easily found a Boar’s Head version at our local store.  Like bacon, it is salt-cured, but unlike bacon, it’s not usually smoked.  It’s often made with spices, so every pancetta has its own personality.   

In terms of prep, although there were lots of components and a bit of chopping involved, the dish came together fairly easily.  I also said last month’s salmon was pretty easy, so please remind me of this when I’m bellyaching about the turkey on the November cover.  I’m sure it will require a 7-day brining, marinade injections, a rub made with homemade Chinese 5-spice, and flipping the turkey half-way through the roasting. 

How exactly does one flip a hot turkey, anyway?  I can just see it slipping out of the pan, across the kitchen floor, and into the living room – stopping just short of my toddler, who will clap with delight and immediately try to tear off a drumstick.  Or ride it like a pony.  Or both. 

Hmmm. See how easily I slipped into neurotic paranoia mode, 6 months in advance?  Don’t envy me; it’s a gift. 

Anyway, back to the pasta.  The fettuccine was in the Fast/Easy/Fresh section of the magazine, and it certainly lived up to all three descriptors.  It was a nice one-pot meal, and one that I would gladly make again.  In fact, this would be perfect for a springtime lunch for guests, especially veggie lovers who won’t mind that a sprinkle of pancetta is the only protein in sight. 

Speaking of the pancetta, next time I would flirt with a sexier spiced version, because there is definitely room to jazz up the flavor profile.  And while I was at it, I’d add some kick by way of cayenne or Sriracha – I think it would pump up the flavors of the other components. 

So basically, this recipe is a great launching point for creating a signature dish.  Lots of flavors, layered nicely, waiting for a good cook to put their custom spin on it.  It’s fast, easy, and fresh – but not mind-blowing.   

I’ll take it.