Project Weeknight: Seven-P Pasta

Another smashing success from the blog of my culinary guru, Mark Bittman. OK, so it's not his recipe. But he posted it, so he approved it, as did we.

I made this 'Seven-P Pasta' one evening for an out-of-town guest. I am a lousy host -- I have a very short attention span and am easily distracted (and I'd much rather play with my guests than cook) -- so I know that if I'm feeding friends I need to stick with recipes that are quick and easy yet rewarding. This fits the bill. I cooked it on the weekend but it definitely qualifies for Project Weeknight status.

OK, here's the ingredients list. Hold on - it's really, really complicated... not!

Pasta-Peas-Pancetta-Pecorino-Parmesan-Parsley-Pepper.

That's it, except for salt. Just a little.

I made it (almost) as written; I subbed bacon (call it 'Pork, smoked' if you must) for pancetta. I used two strips of bacon for half a lb of pasta. I did salt the water for my pasta a little because I always do. I chose farfalle for the pasta, even though it wasn't whole grain, because I just had a hankering for them little bowties.

Next time I'll hold back some of the pasta water to add at the end as needed. Otherwise, it was wonderful as it.

One caveat: I'm not an ingredients nazi by any means, but since this is a very simple recipe, it is important that you use good ingredients. Real Parmesan Reggiano, real Pecorino Romano, frozen peas, fresh parsley, fresh ground black pepper, please. This is not the time to be bringing our the green cardboard tube of 'parmesan' and the can of LeSeur peas.

Trust me on this. You will be rewarded.