Spicy spaghetti pancetta

I’ve been looking to perfect a really quick and simple pasta dish that packs a punch. The wonders of being a working parent means that you’re always on the lookout for something that’s a little more sophisticated than throwing some fish fingers in the oven but which doesn’t leave you an exhausted heap on the floor in the way that a Jamie 30-minute meal does. This is that dish! (Also, see Tips below.)

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 5¼ ounces / 150g diced pancetta
• 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• 14 ounces / 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons of white wine
• 2½ ounces / 75g parmesan, grated

Method

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the onion, pancetta, and chilli, frying on a medium heat for 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and wine.

Lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring regularly.

Serve with pasta, and with a generous sprinkle of parmesan.

Enough for 4 sensible portions or 2 indulgent ones!

Tips

If I’m making this for the entire family, I simply keep a small pan for the kids on the side and put a small amount of each ingredient in there (minus the chilli) and keep both pans on the go.

Trivia

Pancetta is Italian pork-belly bacon cured with salt and spices, but not smoked. It comes rolled in a cylinder and is used to flavour pastas, sauces, meats and vegetable dishes. The largest pancetta weighing 150.5kg / 331.79 lbs was displayed at the Pancetta Festival Ponte dell’Olio, Italy, on 23rd June, 2002. It was made by the Commune de Ponte dell’Olio and the Piacenza Chamber of Commerce.