Tagliatelle Pasta with Fresh Peas and Pancetta
Pasta with fresh peas, or 'pasta coi bisi' in local dialect, is a traditional spring recipe here in the Northern Italian region of Veneto. This simple pasta with peas and pancetta is more than the sum of its parts, which are few! In fact, the first time I had this dish, I was really quite surprised how tasty it is.
- 14 oz Tagliatelle pasta ((400g))
- 1.5 lbs Fresh peas ((800g))
- 1 large Onion (I used a white onion. You can also use a yellow onion.)
- 3 oz Pancetta ((80g) cut into cubes)
- 1 cup Vegetable stock ((237ml) or beef stock)
- 2-3 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 handful Fresh parsley (chopped)
- 2 oz Parmigiano Reggiano ((50g) freshly grated)
- 1 knob Butter
- Salt (to taste)
- Black pepper (to taste)
- Shell and wash the peas. Cut the pancetta into small cubes, peel and finely chop the onion and chop a handful of parsley.
- Heat the olive oil in a frying pan or skillet and add the onion, pancetta and parsley. Cook over a low heat until the onion softens and the pancetta turns pink, add the peas and a cup of broth.
- Season with salt (not too much as pancetta is quite salty) and black pepper and cook, stirring occasionally until the peas are tender and the sauce thickens. About 10-15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, boil some water in a saucepan for the pasta. Add salt once it starts to boil and bring to the boil again. Cook the pasta al dente according to the instructions on the packet. Fresh pasta only needs about 3 minutes..
- Drain the pasta. add it to the pan with the sauce and add a knob of butter and a sprinkling of Parmigiano cheese. Mix everything together well and serve.
History
Peas have been cultivated and eaten in Italy since Roman times and before. Nowadays, this tasty and healthy spring legume is an important crop in Emilia-Romagna, Puglia, Sicily, Campania and Veneto.
In Veneto, a number of towns or areas are famous for their peas, in particular an area of the Berici hills near Vicenza. Here, there is a local variety of peas that they say are the best peas in Italy.
Lumignano peas have been grown in this part of Veneto since 1000 AD. It was Benedictine monks who first introduced them to the area.
These peas have apparently been prized for centuries. The Doges of Venice used to order them as the primary ingredient of their ‘Risi e Bisi’ (rice and peas).
This was a dish the Doges traditionally ate on the Feast of Saint Mark, the patron saint of Venice. Risi e Bisi is still a traditional way to eat peas here in Veneto.
Pea festivals!
I love the rural Italian tradition of holding annual festivals to celebrate the harvest of the main local crop. I live in the wine producing area of Soave.
Soave is a beautiful Medieval walled town with a castle and every year there is the local wine festival, which we happily attend!. The area I live in is famous for cherries too, so there are also cherry festivals held annually in a number of local villages!
Many of the towns and villages where they cultivate peas hold annual pea festivals (sagra dei bisi) in May. The Lumignano festival is usually held in mid-May. Among others, there’s also the ‘festa dei bisi di Baone’ in the Euganean hills area near Padova.
Then, closer to where I live is the ‘sagra dei bisi’ in Colognola ai Colli. Visitors to these festivals can buy and eat a number of traditional pea based dishes.
The most popular are the rice and peas I mentioned before, as well as pasta with fresh peas made the same way as in this recipe.
