Pancetta

Week: 4
Ingredient: Pancetta
From: Martin’s, Harrisonburg, VA
Recipe: Spicy Spaghetti with Fennel and Herbs

Food Network is the main reason I have cable. It is not the only channel I watch, but it is the one I would miss the most if it were gone. I do not regret all those hours—mouth-watering, hunger-inducing, experiment-inspiring hours—spent watching Alton Brown, Rachael Ray, and the others. I have learned so much about cooking and about food from them. How else would I ever have been inspired to try pancetta? Sure, maybe I would have stumbled across a recipe calling for pancetta someday, and maybe I would have cared enough to find out what it was and where to find it. But even then, would I have been willing to fork up $12 a pound for “Italian bacon,” as it is frequently described?

I have made recipes calling for pancetta before, but bacon always seemed like a reasonable substitute. I was not even sure I would be able to find pancetta in Harrisonburg. After all, the first time I went looking for hazelnuts, I tried at least three different stores before finally finding them (at Sharp Shopper, of all places!). Since Martin’s came to town, certain ingredients have been easier to find, and I have known for a while now that they carry pancetta in the deli.

When I found a recipe recently that was (1) spicy and (2) called for fennel, I was immediately attracted. I love both those things! I did not even notice the recipe called for pancetta until a week or so later when I was making my grocery list. The Food Network chefs must finally have gotten through to me because this time I decided to go for it. I came home from Martin’s with a fatty little spiral of pork (and a little bit of sticker shock), and I set out to cook ...

The Spicy Spaghetti with Fennel and Herbs recipe started with sautéing the pancetta. It is hard to beat the smell and taste of sautéed bacon, but the renown of the Italian meat, the high price tag, and the fat that would soon render its succulent gift—they all told me that I was about to experience some gastronomic phenomenon. The aroma of the sautéing pancetta did not disappoint. Though not smoky like bacon, the pancetta filled my house with a lovely scent—meaty with hints of spice.

I could not wait for the dish to be complete before sampling the pancetta. Once sautéed, I stole a little tidbit from the pan. It tasted ... salty. So salty, in fact, that I could discern little other flavor. However, the pancetta was for flavoring, not for eating alone, so I was unperturbed, and I finished up the recipe more or less as written, changing the amount of hot peppers (more for more spiciness!) and substituting Parmigiano-Reggiano for the Romano cheese.

Now, a short digression about fennel ... If you have never cooked with it, you really should give it a try. It is an aromatic vegetable with a pleasant anise- or licorice-like flavor. Do not be dismayed, all you haters of black jellybeans! I am with you there. However, I find that fennel as a vegetable has a much more subtle flavor than the licorice candy I eschew. Also, I think that fennel or anise is much more appealing as a savory flavor than a sweet one. If variety is the spice of life, having fennel in the arsenal is a great way to spice up that thing we all need more of in our diets: vegetables. Well, that is my two cents. You will have to decide for yourself.

Now, back to the dish at hand ... First impression: it did not look as pretty as the picture from the recipe. It was a little too dark in color. Maybe I over-browned the pancetta. Maybe my homemade chicken stock was too dark to use as the broth. Maybe the dish in the picture was prepared by a food stylist and was completely inedible. In any case, it smelled delicious, and I was not serving it for company, so the appearance was merely disappointing, not a disaster.

And what of the taste? It is hard to say what the predominant flavor was. They all complemented each other so well. The pasta was a perfect backdrop for all the other strong flavors. The fennel lent its aromatic punch. The chiles gave it a spicy kick. The cheese gave it a nice tang. The lemon and parsley balanced it out with some freshness. Oh yeah, and the pancetta ... The pancetta gave it a meaty richness. I don’t even know how to describe it. Pancetta tastes like it smells—meaty with hints of spice. So rich ... and porky ... and delicious. Insert contented sigh here.

Conclusion: Pancetta is certainly delicious, but it is not more delicious than bacon. I will use pancetta again in the future, but considering the price tag, I will stick with bacon for everyday use.