Pasta with Zucchini, Pancetta and Saffron

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Pasta with Zucchini, Pancetta and Saffron

This is our version of a fantastic pasta offering from Trattoria Bertozzi in Bologna, Italy. In lieu of guanciale (cured pork jowl), we opted for easier-to-find but equally meaty pancetta, and we lightened up the dish’s richness by swapping half-and-half for the cream. The restaurant uses gramigna pasta, a tubular, curled shape from the Emilio-Romagna region. We found that more widely available cavatappi or gemelli works just as well combining with the zucchini and catching the lightly creamy sauce in its crevices.

Servings:

Calories: 542kcal

Author: Courtney Hill | Milk Street

Ingredients

1 pound zucchini
12 ounces short curly pasta such as cavatappi or gemelli
Kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon saffron threads
3 ounces guanciale or pancetta finely chopped
1 medium garlic clove smashed and peeled
½ cup half-and-half
½ ounce Parmesan cheese shaved with a vegetable peeler

Instructions

Prepare the zucchini:

Halve the zucchini lengthwise, then use a spoon to scrape out the seeds.
Slice each half lengthwise about ¼ inch thick, then cut the strips crosswise into 1-inch sections.

Cook the pasta:

In a large pot, boil 4 quarts of water.
Add the pasta and 2 tablespoons salt, then cook, stirring occasionally, until just shy of al dente.
Reserve 2 cups of the cooking water, then drain.
In a small bowl, combine 1½ cups of the reserved water and the saffron; set aside the remaining ½ cup water.

Cook the zucchini:

While the pasta cooks, in a 12-inch skillet over medium, cook the pancetta and garlic, stirring occasionally, until the pancetta has rendered some of its fat and begins to crisp, about 3 minutes.
Remove and discard the garlic, then stir in the zucchini and ½ teaspoon pepper.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the pancetta is fully crisped and the zucchini is lightly browned, 4 to 6 minutes.

Finish and serve:

Add the pasta and the saffron water to the skillet.
Bring to a simmer over medium-high and cook, stirring often, until the pasta is al dente, 4 to 5 minutes.
Add the half-and-half and cook, stirring, until the sauce is lightly thickened and clings to the pasta, about 1 minute.
Off heat, taste and season with salt and pepper.
If needed, stir in additional reserved pasta water 1 tablespoon at a time to create a lightly creamy sauce.
Transfer to a serving bowl and top with Parmesan.

Notes

Don’t boil the pasta until al dente. Drain it when it has a little more bite than is desirable in the finished dish; the noodles will cook a bit more in the sauce. Also, don’t forget to reserve 2 cups of the cooking water before draining the pasta.

Nutrition