Skillet Pasta With Mushrooms, Pancetta, and Wilted Greens Recipe

One-Pot Wonders

Yasmin Fahr
Skillet Pasta With Mushrooms, Pancetta, and Wilted Greens Recipe
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  • Yield:Serves 4
  • Active time:30 minutes
  • Total time:30 minutes
This recipe appears in:
Cook This Easy One-Skillet Pasta with Mushrooms, Pancetta, and Wilted Greens

Tossed in a sauce that's loaded with pancetta, shallot, and serrano chile, this quick and easy one-pot pasta dish is layered with flavor. [Photographs: Yasmin Fahr]

This easy one-pot pasta dish is filled with browned bits of pancetta, earthy Shiitake mushrooms and wilted greens, and comes together in just 25 minutes. Finished with nutty shavings of Parmesan and freshly cracked black pepper, it's a perfect weeknight meal.

Why this recipe works:

  • Browning the pancetta renders its fat, which is used to create a flavorful sauce with some of the pasta-cooking water.
  • Browning the mushrooms in the pan before adding them to the pasta builds deeper layers of flavor.
  • We cook the pasta in chicken stock in the same pan that the rest of the ingredients are cooked in for tons of flavor with minimal clean-up.

Note: The pancetta will add a fair amount of salt, so be sure to taste before seasoning to prevent over-salting the dish.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • 1/4 pound pancetta, diced
  • 2 cups sliced shiitake mushrooms, woody stems trimmed
  • 1 medium shallot, thinly sliced (about 1/3 cup)
  • 1/2 serrano chile pepper, stemmed and minced
  • 5 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock or vegetable stock
  • 1 pound dried fusilli or other short, twisted pasta
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 bunch greens, such as dandelion, mustard, or kale, stems trimmed and leaves cut into 2-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
  • 2 tablespoons fresh juice from 1 lemon
  • Parmesan, for grating

Directions

  1. 1.

    Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add pancetta and cook until fat begins to render and pancetta is lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Stir in mushrooms, tossing until coated with oil. Cook, stirring, until mushrooms have browned and pancetta has rendered most of its fat, about 5 minutes longer. Stir in shallots and serrano and cook until softened, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and scrape pancetta mixture into a bowl. Set aside.

  2. 2.

    Add stock to now-empty saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Add pasta. Cook pasta, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes less than package instructions, then stir in greens. Cook for 1 minute longer, then stir in pancetta mixture, along with all the rendered fat. Cook until the pasta is al dente, greens are wilted, and liquid has mostly evaporated and formed an emulsified, creamy sauce, about 1 minute (if necessary, add water a tablespoon at a time if liquid completely evaporates before pasta is tender).

  3. 3.

    Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and extra-virgin olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon onto plates and top with Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

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