If you want a quick fix meal that is also incredibly delicious this pasta with pancetta and leeks will be your savior. First of all it only takes 15 minutes to make and second of all it is incredibly hard to mess up for everyone who is not a classically trained chef. The ingredients are not hard to find and require no special grocery stores. Also for summer entertaining it is easy to change the quantities in the recipe and make it for as many or as few people as you want. The pasta is in a cream sauce but it is very light so nothing to worry about if it is a hot day and you don’t want anything too heavy. This truly is the perfect recipe if you are not looking to spend a lot of time in the kitchen.

Here’s what you need:

Leeks
Chopped pancetta (you can also use thinly sliced bacon)
Butter
Cream
Salt
Pepper
Parmesan

Simple!

Begin by cooking the pasta. I used bowtie/farfalle, but you can use anything you have on hand. Just reserve about a cup or so of hot pasta water before you drain—you might need it for the sauce.

Grab the leeks…

And lop off the ends

Start cutting at the point where the green starts getting dark and looking a little tough

Next, lop off the tops

I usually peel off the outer layer, just to get rid of any toughness

Just toss these. They serve no purpose on this earth.

Slice up the leeks pretty thinly. Tell them you’ll be back in just a minute.

Pancetta is basically a streaky Italian-style bacon. Just use Oscar Meyer if that’s what you have on hand!

Throw the pancetta into a large skillet over medium heat.

Saute the little bits until the fat has rendered and the bacon has started to slightly brown.

Then throw in the beautiful leeks!

Stir and cook for about ten minutes—you’ll need to cook the leeks long enough to really soften.

Throw in a pat or two of butter. This’ll give the dish some scrumptious flavor. I add it after the bacon is browned because I don’t want the butter to brown.

This is 8 to 10 minutes later. It’s time to…

Pour in a little white wine!

Now, let the mixture cook and reduce for a good minute or two.

Oh my. The flavors here. To die for.

Next, decrease the heat to low and pour in a little cream.

You don’t need to drown it—just a little cream to add a little richness.

Turn off the heat, then pour in the cooked pasta!

Finally, grab a block of Parmesan…

And shave off several pieces.

Source: The Pioneer Woman