Serving size: Serves 4-6
Cuisine type: Italian
Cooking time: Less than 30 minutes
Course: Main
Favourite flavours: Easy recipes, Pasta

Australian House & Garden recipe for bavette with chicory, pancetta and lemon.

INGREDIENTS

1kg chicory (about 2 heads)
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
150g straight pancetta, cut into thin strips
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
Good handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/3 cup (80ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼-½ tsp chilli flakes (optional)
500g dried bavette or linguine

METHOD

1 Rinse chicory well in several changes of cold water, until water stays clear. Cut away coarse stems, then chop leaves roughly. Set aside.

2 Place oil and pancetta in a frypan and cook over medium heat until pancetta is crisp. Remove pancetta from frypan with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Add onion to same frypan and cook 3-5mins or until soft. Add garlic and cook 2mins, stirring constantly. Remove frypan from heat and stir in parsley, lemon juice and chilli, if using. Set aside.

3 Meanwhile cook pasta in salted boiling water until al dente. Just before pasta is al dente, add chicory and return to the boil. Drain immediately, reserving a cupful of cooking water.

4 Gently reheat onion mixture. Turn pasta and chicory into a heated bowl. Add onion mixture and pancetta. Toss well and serve immediately, moistening pasta with a little of the cooking water if necessary.

Recipes extracted from Pasta Rustica by Loukie Werle ($35, Penny Pig). Available from www.loukie.com.au and bookstores.