Peas and Pancetta (or Bacon)

Raise your hand if you've ever heard someone say the holidays are not the time to try new recipes... Yep, mine is up too. Add to that, if my boys had it their way we'd have the same five dinners in rotation every Sunday... Forget about changing a holiday menu! Well, I saved this Peas and Pancetta recipe over a year ago and decided to try it on Easter *insert gasp here*. Not only were the peas not the petite canned variety, I immediately heard "do I smell orange?". Does anyone else remember the days when you couldn't shovel strained squash into their mouths fast enough??? Yea, long gone...

Back to these peas, I took some liberties with the recipe and used bacon instead of pancetta and frozen peas instead of fresh. (Please note this pic was of the leftovers reheated, kinda had a busy Sunday...) I love peas and bacon and found these very flavorful, liked the orange (but would cut the zest in half) and would make them again. I do suggest saving them for a day when you're serving a meat, a veggie and a starch, not a big holiday meal, you'll thank me for that:@)

Peas and Pancetta-from Michael Simon via Food Network Magazine, April 2013

1/4 pound pancetta, diced, (about 1 C)-I used bacon

1 shallot, sliced

1 tsp garlic, minced

grated zest and juice of an orange

3 C fresh shelled peas (about 1 lb)-I used frozen, thawed

1/4 C fresh parsley, chopped-ooops, forgot that

1 Tblsp butter

Kosher salt if needed-I did add a few grinds of black pepper too

1. Cook pancetta in large skillet over medium-low heat until crispy, about 5 minutes.
2. Add shallot and garlic, cook one minute and add orange juice.
3. Increase heat to medium, add peas and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. (I covered the skillet for the frozen peas and cooked them longer.)
4. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the zest, parsley and butter. Add salt if desired.

Try something new and have a happy day:@)