Pancetta, if you didn’t know, is quite simply Italian bacon. Pork belly is cured with garlic, herbs and aromatic spices such as nutmeg, clove and cinnamon, then hung to dry. Often the belly is rolled and tied before drying for an attractive spiral effect when sliced, but not always. Most commercial pancetta you’ll find in the United States comes as thin slices of the rolled variety. My decidedly un-commercial pancetta (pictured above) is not rolled.

Pancetta is excellent as a foundational flavor for sauces, sauteed with vegetables for frittata (such as this one I made a while back), or simply sliced and fried for breakfast or sandwiches.

My most recent batch of country pancetta was finished yesterday. It’s officially gone, but I’ll start another batch in a day or two. If you’re in Portland and you’d like to get hold of some of my pancetta, simply contact me to inquire about becoming a client.

When you have beautiful fish such as these exquisite filets of Dover sole, please don’t tamper with it so much. In this case I sea-salted and peppered each filet, heated the cast iron skillet to wicked-hot and then removed it from the stove. I gently placed each filet into the pan and let them cook on the residual heat for about ten seconds on each side. Onto a plate they went, where they received enough olive oil and lemon juice to mingle with the juices of the fish and give me something to soak up with a crust of bread.

What probably looks to you like a decent penne rigate con salsiccia fresca is actually the jumping off point for a Sunday afternoon repast. Like soups and stews, frittatas are an excellent way to use up little odds and end you might have laying around in the fridge, and they’re perhaps my favorite. For this one I sliced cooked Italian sausages, diced a bit of prosciutto and pancetta, chopped some parsley and sauteed it all up with sliced onions and garlic. Easy. Then I threw in some leftover penne rigate. Tossed. Added red wine, salt and pepper. Reduced. After evening out the ingredients in the skillet, I covered the mess with beaten eggs…

…and large-shred Gouda, diced tomato and more parsley…

I baked it at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until it felt solid and the cheese was melted to a nice golden brown. Then I sliced it like a pie, drizzled some primo extra virgin olive oil on top, and scarfed it down.