Cook: Pasta with pancetta and peas

Pasta with pancetta and peas is a simple and comforting dinner recipe. I served this with butternut squash soup and roasted cauliflower.

Ingredients:

• 16 oz fettucine (I used slightly less than one box of thin spaghetti)
• 8 oz pancetta, diced (I used 2- 4oz packages of diced pancetta from Trader Joe's)
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 1 (10 oz) bag of frozen peas
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2  to one whole lemon, juiced.

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium heat. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of pasta water.
2. Meanwhile, saute pancetta in another large pan over medium-high heat until golden and crisp, about 6 minutes. 
3. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. In the same pan with oil from pancetta, saute onions until softened, about 5 minutes. 
4. Add frozen peas and garlic and saute for 3 minutes. (peas will thaw)
5. Stir in Parmesan, pasta and pancetta. If it seems to dry/sticky you can moisten the pasta with some of the reserved pasta water. 
6. Toss to incorporate, season with salt and pepper, and serve, sprinkled with freshly squeeze lemon juice. You can top with a bit of shaved parmesan.