Simply a cheesy pasta with smoky pancetta, cabbage and pine nuts, the dish is simple and quick to put together.
“This is a corker of a dish,” Jamie Oliver beamed. “Braised Savoy cabbage with… salty, smoky pancetta and oozy cheese.”
The chef continued: “Tossed through farfalle pasta with golden pine nuts to finish.”
While Jamie Oliver’s enthusiasm about the meal is typical of the passionate cook, many people preparing the dish will be delighted to know it only takes 20 minutes to make.
Here’s how to make the chef’s delicious Savoy cabbage and pancetta farfella recipe.
Savoy cabbage and pancetta farfalle
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- 40g pine nuts
- Half a bunch of fresh thyme (10g)
- Two thick rashers of cured smoked streaky bacon or pancetta
- One to two cloves of garlic
- One small dried chilli or one pinch of dried chilli flakes
- Half a large Savoy cabbage
- 300g dried farfalle
- 60g Parmesan cheese, plus extra to serve
- 125g ball of buffalo mozzarella
- Extra virgin olive oil
Method
Heat a large non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat with half a tablespoon of olive oil, then add the pine nuts and lightly toast for one minute.
Pick in half of the thyme leaves and cook for another minute, or until the pine nuts are golden, tossing the pan occasionally. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Return the pan to the heat. Finely slice and add the pancetta with half a tablespoon of olive oil and fry until the fat has rendered and the pancetta is lightly golden.
Peel, finely slice and add the garlic, then crumble in the dried chilli and strip in the remaining thyme leaves. Season with black pepper.
Click off the darker, tougher leaves from the cabbage, discarding any tough stalky bits, then roll up and finely slice. Add to the pan and cook for a few minutes.
Tear up the paler cabbage leaves and finely chop the stalk, then add to the pan with a splash of boiling water. Season with salt, reduce the heat to medium, cover and cook for a further 10 minutes.
Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water, according to the packet instructions.
Finely grate the Parmesan and chop the mozzarella into 1cm chunks. Drain the pasta, reserving a mugful of the cooking water, and toss with the cabbage.
Remove the pan from the heat, add the Parmesan and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and toss well, adding splashes of the cooking water, if needed.
Add the mozzarella, tossing for 30 seconds, or until stringy and oozy, before serving with a scattering of toasted pine nuts and an extra grating of Parmesan.
