Savory, spicy, and creamy, this Stewed Tomatoes, Pancetta, and Pappardelle Pasta is truly outstanding! This Pancetta Pasta dish uses the crème de la crème of canned tomatoes – San Marzano Tomatoes, to achieve a sauce that is delicately sweet, mildly acidic, and wonderfully tender. These tomatoes do not require long cooking, due to their great characteristics, and caramelize beautifully to create a sauce that is deep in flavor, with a melt-in-your-mouth texture. Pancetta is fried to golden crispy perfection, to add a wonderfully salty umami component to the pasta, and of course cream finishes this Pancetta Pappardelle Pasta off to create a sauce that is delicately silky! Simple, but elegant!

thick ribbons of pappardelle pasta are smothered in a spicy creamy stewed tomato sauce and topped with sharp parmesan cheese

I wanted to start by saying this recipe is actually not my own! I found this recipe years ago on The Wall Street Journal. Usually, as I’m sure most of us do, when I use a recipe I will tweak it slightly to my tastes. A little more cayenne here, the addition of garlic there, you know – little things like that. However, this recipe is absolutely exquisite! I think that it is perfect – no tweaks necessary! This pancetta pappardelle pasta is simple, while simultaneously being outstanding and unique. The end result of this dish is an exceptional pasta that is sweet, from the caramelized tomatoes, velvety from the cream, and best of all is the salty-umami flavor that comes from the pancetta! Absolutely perfect.

thick ribbons of pappardelle pasta are smothered in a spicy creamy stewed tomato sauce and topped with sharp parmesan cheese

Pappardelle

Pappardelle is a an egg-based pasta that is broad ribbon shaped pasta. It is wonderfully rich and fluffy, due to the eggs in the dough, and pairs beautifully with hearty, rich sauces! It’s broad shape is exceptionally sturdy, being able to easily hold the weight of any sauce with substance. If you cannot find pappardelle you can substitute it for tagliatelle, which is slightly narrower in shape, or if you can find a thick fettuccine that could work as well. Just remember that you want a broad pasta that will be able to hold up to the rich sauce.

thick ribbons of pappardelle pasta are smothered in a spicy creamy stewed tomato sauce and topped with sharp parmesan cheese

San Marzano Tomatoes

As this is a relatively simple dish without many ingredients, you need to use the best ingredients to ensure top notch flavor! San Marzano Tomatoes are really a must in this Stewed Tomatoes and Pancetta Pasta. San Marzano tomatoes are intensely tomato-ey, not very acidic, delicately sweet, and break down beautifully when cooked. What does this all mean? Well these great little tomatoes make one superior sauce! The texture when cooked is sooo tender, meaning that the tomatoes essentially melt away into the sauce. The sweetness is perfect – sometimes with canned tomatoes we need to add extra sugar to get the desired sweetness, but there is absolutely no need for that with San Marzano tomatoes! Lastly, the flavor is mildly acidic without being overwhelming – nothing is worse than a tomato sauce that is unbalanced in its acidity, as that acidity has a tendency to overpower the dish. To prepare the tomatoes for this recipe, use the canned whole tomatoes, and remove 8 from the can. Using your hand, squeeze the tomato to remove the inner juice from each one, still leaving the flesh intact. Discard the juices and then simply roughly chop up the remaining flesh of the tomatoes.

thick ribbons of pappardelle pasta are smothered in a spicy creamy stewed tomato sauce and topped with sharp parmesan cheese

Whole Chili Substitute

This recipe calls for the use of whole chilies, that are then crumbled up. If you do not have these, you can substitute red pepper flakes instead. As these flakes will be spicier than the whole chilies, you probably don’t want to add them in too early. I would just suggest to add them when the tomatoes are almost done cooking, and to add slowly and taste to your desired spiciness.

thick ribbons of pappardelle pasta are smothered in a spicy creamy stewed tomato sauce and topped with sharp parmesan cheese

Get the Recipe: Stewed Tomatoes, Pancetta, and Pappardelle Pasta

5 stars (1 review)
Savory, spicy, and creamy, this Stewed Tomatoes, Pancetta, and Pappardelle Pasta is truly outstanding! This Pancetta Pasta dish uses the crème de la crème of canned tomatoes – San Marzano Tomatoes, as well as salty pancetta, and a touch of cream to create a truly exquisite sauce.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 4 people

Ingredients
 

  • 12 oz (340g) Pappardelle Pasta
  • 1 cup Reserved Pasta Water
  • 4 tbsp Unsalted Butter
  • 6 oz (170g) Pancetta,, cubed small
  • 8 Whole San Marzano Tomatoes,, from a can
  • 2-4 Dried Chilies,, crumbled
  • 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
  • 2/3 cup Grated Parmigano Reggiano
  • Salt & Pepper,, to taste

Instructions
 

  • Prep the tomatoes by removing them from the can, and squeezing them to remove most of their inner juices, leaving behind the flesh. Discard the juices and roughly chop the tomato fleshes, then set aside for later.
  • Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil, then turn to medium-high heat. Add pasta into the pot and cook according to box time. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water and then drain the pasta.
  • Meanwhile, in a large frying pan add butter and melt over medium heat. Add pancetta and crumbled chilies, fry for about 5-6 minutes, or until the pancetta is golden in color. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pan, mix well to combine, and cook for another 5-6 minutes, stirring often. The tomatoes are finished when they begin to caramelize. Stir in the cream, and cook for another 3-4 minutes, or until the sauce looks uniform and begins to thicken. (Sauce time = 15 minutes)
  • Add cooked pasta to the pan, and toss to combine with the sauce. Sprinkle the cheese over top of the pasta, and toss to combine. Add just enough pasta water, in small additions, until the sauce looks smooth and glossy, and coats the noodles well. Serve with extra shredded parmesan. 

Notes

When making pasta, you must always determine if you should start the sauce first, start the pasta first, or start them simultaneously – depending on the cooking time of the pasta according to the box. 
The goal is to have the pasta and the sauce to finish at the same time.
Cuisine: Italian
Course: Main Course
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Source: Wall Street Journal