Pancetta: Tortiglioni vs. Orcheiette

Remember the Italian store? The one that started off as a place R didn't want to go into and would wait outside, in frustration... Next step was R coming in the store with me. Week after that, I heard he stopped in while I was out of town (visiting Giz) because it was on his way. Since then, it has been his weekly weekend walk. He makes the 1 hours walk (there and back) to buy buns and lunchmeat for his lunches for the week. Lately, he has been getting pancetta. You can see another pancetta recipes here.

These TWO recipes contain many of the same ingredients, but vary whether it is white wine- or tomato-based. One recipe includes crushed tomatoes and the other chopped. Play with these ingredients, adding herbs and other veggies as you see fit. It makes for a great meal (and leftovers).

Ingredients

2.5 inches pancetta (spicy)
500 g Orcheiette (or any pasta of your choosing)
1 cup of white wine
16 oz crushed tomato
3-4 tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 shallots, finely chopped
tomatoes, chopped
pepper, parsley, basil, oregano (fresh or dried), chopped
parmesan cheese, to taste

Chop the pancetta into small cube shapes. Pan fry them (careful to not burn them). Once pancetta cubes are close to being done, remove and place in papertowel to absorb the fat (that's what I do). In the same pan, fry the garlic and onion, mixing continously. After a minute or so, add the wine and let reduce some. Add the remainder of your ingredients. Once a few minutes from completion, return the pancetta to the pan. Add the herbs. Plate with shredded parmesan cheese over top.

Here's the crushed tomato base:

Tortiglioni Pancetta

Here's the white wine base:

Orcheiette Pancetta

This dish is being sent to Katie at One Little Corner of the World. I've been following Katie's blog for a while now (not in a stalkerish kind of way). Definitely check out her site! Katie is hosting this week's Presto Pasta Night!

So -Which dish would you prefer???

Note: the top picture of tomatoes comes from Tomato Mania.

******************************************
I also wanted to take a second to help spread the word about the third round of Adopt a Blogger.

Kristen at Dine and Dish, who blogs about her recipes, family, daily experiences and the pregnancy of her 4th child, is taking the time to host the third Adopt a Blogger event. We've participated in the first two as a newbie blogger, paired with Redacted Recipes and as a veteran blogger, paired with Hopie's Kitchen.

We're excited to receive a new adoptive blog. Hopie - are you ready for an adoptive sibling?

As you can imagine, there are many newbie bloggers. But there is still need for more veteran foodbloggers. If you're interested in being paired with a new food blogger, let Kristen know. It's a nice way of getting to know other people in the community.