Gnocchi (Shells): Braised Bacon and Peas

Name: Gnocchi (Shells): Braised Bacon and Peas (Gnocchi con Piselli e Pancetta Brasata)
Yield: Serves 4 as a starter or 2 as a main
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 250 g sweet-cured streaky bacon (thickly sliced); 500 ml good dark chicken stock; 125 ml double cream; 30 g butter; 200 g gnocchi shells; 200 g frozen peas, or blanched fresh ones; 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley; grated Parmesan to serve

Gnocchi con Piselli e Pancetta Brasata

Preparation info

Serves
4
as a starter

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Geometry of Pasta

By Caz Hildebrand and Jacob Kenedy

Published 2010

About

Perhaps a Westernised version of peas and cooked ham, this sauce is sweeter and more indulgent. It is perhaps as distant from the Italian original as are the ‘gnocchi’ pasta shells from their dumpling inspiration.

Ingredients

200 g gnocchi shells
250 g sweet-cured streaky bacon (thickly sliced)

Starter
Main course

Method

First, braise the bacon. Cut it into 1cm strips and cover with the chicken stock in an ovenproof dish only just large enough to accommodate both. Place in a preheated oven (200°C fan, oven, 220°C conventional) and leave to simmer for two to three hours, stirring every half-hour until the juices are thick, mor