Meat
Pancetta
Also called cured pork belly
Salt-cured pork belly, seasoned with pepper and sometimes spice, then dried. Sold flat (stesa) or rolled (arrotolata). It is not smoked.
Origin
All over Italy. Emilia-Romagna puts it at the bottom of its ragù.
Flavour
Sweet pork and clean salt. Milder than guanciale, cleaner than bacon.
How to use it
Mince or cut into small cubes and melt it slowly at the start of a ragù or soffritto. It stands in for guanciale in Roman pasta, a little less funky.
Storage
Wrap and refrigerate. Cubed packs keep a few days once open.
Recipes using it
Tagliatelle al ragù
Tagliatelle al ragù alla bolognese
Bologna's own ragù: beef and pancetta slow-cooked with white wine, milk and a little tomato, served on fresh egg tagliatelle. Never spaghetti.
Medium
Lasagne alla bolognese
Bologna's baked lasagne: thin egg pasta sheets layered with ragù, béchamel and Parmigiano. No mozzarella, no ricotta.
A bit of work
Pisarei e fasö
Piacenza's tiny bread-and-flour gnocchetti, each curled with a thumb, cooked in a thick sauce of borlotti beans, tomato and pancetta.
Medium
Risi e bisi
Venice's spring rice and peas: young peas and Vialone Nano rice cooked in a broth made from the pods, loose enough to eat with a spoon.
Medium
