Linguine with Broccolini and Pancetta
WHEN I’M HUNGRY after a long day and at a loss for what to make for dinner, I, like a lot of home cooks, turn to pasta—the perfect blank slate. Some of the most simple and classic Italian pasta dishes, such as pasta alla gricia (which is based on guanciale or pancetta, Pecorino Romano cheese, and black pepper) means “garlic and that I often have in my pantry or in my refrigerator.
Broccolini has the vegetal, it is a little sweeter and more delicate.
This pasta dish uses those two classics as a jumping‑off point. Bright‑green broccolini balances the savory pancetta of alla gricia and fruity olive oil of aglio e olio. Broccolini has the vegetal, “green” flavor of broccoli, but it is a little sweeter and more delicate, and its thinner stalks, when cooked to the perfect doneness, are tender and mild. Blanching the chopped broccolini in a Dutch oven in the same salted boiling water that you’ll also use to parcook the pasta—linguine works well here—saves time.
Undercook the linguine (you’ll finish cooking it later) and drain it, saving 2 cups of the pasta cooking water to use in the sauce. Wipe out the Dutch oven, pour in a glug of extra‑virgin olive oil, and use it to render some fat out of the porky pancetta. Next, toss in some minced garlic and red pepper flakes for oomph, and you’re ready to return the parcooked linguine and broccolini to the pot, along with some of the reserved pasta cooking water. Cook the pasta to a perfect al dente as the starchy pasta water, pancetta fat, and olive
