Sofia Loren's Pasta Sauce With Onions and Pancetta

Submitted by Salesgirl

"This is a recipe that is more than the sum of it's parts. Bacon can be used instead of Pancetta making this a great "unexpected company" dish."

 

• Ready In: 20mins
• Ingredients: 8
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 ounces pancetta or 2 ounces bacon
• 3 onions, thinly sliced
• 1⁄2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 lb tomatoes, canned
• 8 medium fresh basil leaves
• parmesan cheese

directions

1. Place the oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add the bacon and onions.
2. When the onions begin to turn golden add the Chile pepper, tomatoes, basil and a pinch of salt.
3. Cook the sauce for about 15 minutes until the flavors are nicely combined.
4. Meanwhile cook 1# bucatini until al dente.
5. Toss the pasta with the sauce and sprinkle generously with cheese.

Reviews

[Karen Elizabeth]

Fast and simple to prepare, wonderful for a midweek supper when you dont want to spend time in the kitchen. I used bacon, pancetta not being freely available here, and I had to use dried basil (so sorry) because my basil leaves weren't looking too healthy. We loved the bite of the red pepper flakes, and found this to be an excellent tomato sauce. Served over spaghetti. Thanks, Salesgirl!

 

[Tinkerbell]

Wow! Made using 4 oz of pancetta (chopped), 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (next time I'll use the full 1/2 tsp) & fire roasted tomatoes. I forgot to add the shaved parm/reggie I had intended to use, before I took the photos. I also added a little extra fresh basil, torn on top with the cheese & the flavor was amazing. We are a whole family of pasta lovers & DH commented that this was the best pasta recipe he can remember in recent years. I loved how simple & quick it was. Using ingredients that are almost always on hand, except the pancetta, which I bought special for this. But I know bacon would be just as great & will try it soon as well. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe, Salesgirl! :) Made & enjoyed for Zaar Chef Alphabet Tag game.

 

[Cosas Preciosas]

Yum! Better than expected. I used two onions, 3 TBSP olive oil, 2 TBSP butter, 6 slices of bacon with fat trimmed off and chopped, and 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, and one 14,5 oz can of diced tomatoes as I didn't want to open up 2 cans to make a pound. It was still very, very delicious and a surprisingly rich, restaurant-quality taste. Even better the next day! Thanks Salesgirl! This is a new favorite.

 

[MarylandMomof3]

This is really good. Made mine with bacon, onions, and rosemary and it tasted like the red sauce on Ledo's Pizza here on the east coast. Left out the red pepper flakes for the kids. The (diced) onions disappeared in the final product which is nice if you have onion haters in the group.

 

[luvadacook]

I have been very remiss in not rating this a looong time before now. But, it truly doesn't appear that this recipe needs any more top ratings anyway :-)<br/>However......and nonetheless......this is a terrific recipe. Fast and Delicious and we have enjoyed the results many times over. The only change I've made is to cut back on the amount of onion and red peppers, but, other than that....I follow the recipe as it is written. Definitely a 5 Star recipe. Thanks so much for posting Salesgirl!