Peas with Pancetta

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12 December 2017 BY Julie Biuso
SERVES: Serves 8

It's amazing how a few nuggets of spiced salted pork belly can transform a pot of peas.

Ingredients

500g (about 1 pound) frozen baby peas 100g (3-4 oz) pancetta in the piece, thickly sliced then cut into chunks 1 Tbsp olive oil ½ cup chopped shallots Freshly ground black pepper 1 Tbsp chopped mint

Method

1 Put peas in a sieve and rinse off ice crystals under running hot water. Add peas to a pot of boiling salted water, bring to the boil and cook for 2 minutes. Drain in a sieve and cool peas quickly under running cold water.

2 Put pancetta and oil in a medium saucepan and cook over low to medium heat for 5 or so minutes until golden – watch it, as the pancetta can darken quickly once the oil gets hot. Add shallots and lower the heat. Cook gently for 5-7 minutes until shallots are tender. Add peas, season lightly with pepper and a pinch of salt and turn off the heat. Reheat gently when required, adding freshly chopped mint.

Pancetta