Day Thirteen: Fettuccine with Peas, Asparagus, and Pancetta

Day thirteen of Operation: Expand Horizons was a simple pasta dish from Bon Appétit's May 2010 issue, Fettuccine with Peas, Asparagus, and Pancetta.

The dish is quite simple and fast. The prep time is actually longer than the cooking time.

We were a little disappointed with the bland flavor overall and the overwhelming amount of lemon, but it was worth a shot. The combo of pasta water, cream, olive oil, lemon juice, and Parmesan is worthy of using again as a light pasta sauce base, with a smaller amount of lemon.

The recipe says it serves 4, but quantities listed told me that I'd have too much left over if I didn't trim it down. Instead of 1 1/4 pounds of asparagus, I used about 3/4 pound. Instead of two cups of peas, I used one cup. Instead of a whole bunch of scallions (we call them "green onions" here in Oklahoma), I used 4. There was still a very generous amount of veggies in the recipe, and it seems like the called-for amounts might have been too much anyway.

Pancetta is outside of my budget, so I used regular bacon, which is an acceptable substitute per the recipe. We are a bacon-loving household, and Wright brand thick-cut bacon is fantastic. The recipe calls for 2 ounces of bacon, but because of my die-hard carnivore spouse, I used more- 3 slices, or about 3 ounces.

The bacon is merely a garnish, so of course my husband whined about the lack of a hunk of meat at dinner. He'll get over it.

I made some garlic toast for a side out of that delicious homemade wheat bread I promised to post on soon.