Garganelli pasta alla Zingara

5 from 9 votes

A creamy North Italian recipe full of colourful fresh ingredients cooked in different stages and then combined with garganelli pasta to create a mouthwatering and beautiful dish.

Prep Time15

Cook Time45

Marinating time30

Total Time1

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Emilia-Romagna, Italian, Northern Italy

Keyword: bell peppers, garganelli, mushrooms, pancetta, pasta

Servings:

Calories: 840kcal

Author: Jacqui

Ingredients

400 g garganelli pasta
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 onion
1 shallot
1 garlic clove
200 g mushrooms champignon/button
250 g tomatoes red and firm (I used piccadilly plum tomatoes)
120 g pancetta
150 ml fresh cream
5 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
salt for pasta and to taste
pepper to taste

Instructions

The bell peppers

Wash the peppers and cook them in a hot oven (180°) in an oven dish with a little water on the bottom until they soften and the skin is easy to remove. Seal them in a bag (I used a freezer bag) and let them cool, then peel them, clean them, remove the seeds and cut into cubes or julienne, Put the peppers in a bowl, adding a tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper, mix and keep aside (marinate for about 30 minutes)

The sauce

Blanch the tomatoes in boiling water for a minute, then peel them, remove the seeds and cut them into cubes.
Peel the onion and finely chop it. Cut the pancetta into cubes or lardons (if it isn't already cut).
Heat 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet, add the onion, cook it for a few moments until it starts to soften, then add the pancetta and cook for a few minutes more. Add the tomatoes and simmer the sauce covered for 10-15 minutes over a low heat.

The pasta

In the meantime put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. Add salt once it starts to boil and bring to the boil again.

The mushrooms

Clean the mushrooms and cut them into slices. Peel the garlic and crush it. Clean the shallot, chop it finely, then fry it with the garlic in a pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil until it softens then add the mushrooms. Cook for a few minutes, until the liquid dries out. Remove the garlic before mixing the mushrooms with the rest of the sauce.

Finish the sauce

Add the marinated peppers and cooked mushrooms to the tomato sauce. Then the cream, season with salt and pepper, stir and leave to flavour for a minute or two more.

Cook the pasta and finish the dish

Cook the pasta al dente according to the instructions on the packet, save a cup of the cooking water and drain. Add the pasta to the sauce, mix well and sauté for two minutes. If the sauce seems dry add some of the pasta cooking water. Serve sprinkled with a little pepper and chopped parsley.

Notes

This recipe doesn’t include cheese but of course you can add some grated Parmesan or grana if you wish.

Garganelli is the pasta I used. But other short pasta such as penne rigate, rigatoni, fusilli or farfalle would work well too.

Nutrition