Pancetta and Parmesan Tart

Last week I managed to squeeze in some time to drive to Williams-Sonoma with the intention of picking up some Aleppo pepper for a recipe I wanted to make.  But in my usual modus operandi fashion I managed to leave with a few more things that I just couldn't seem to live without.  Whether I am looking for a must have, need to have or nice to have, I love going into stores selling all things related to cooking no matter where I am traveling. And if there is a Williams-Sonoma anywhere close to where I am staying, I need to at least walk through it.  For those who travel with me, they know there is no such thing as me just walking through this store.  It seems I have gained a reputation for being a terrible influence on those that come into the store with me. Terrible in the sense that I like to find things for them and maybe encourage them, just a tad, to just get a little something. So spouses of my friends have been known to get a little anxious when their wives are shopping with the 'bad influence'. 

The very first time I made Giada De Laurentiis' savory Pancetta and Parmesan Torte, I inadvertently used prosciutto instead of pancetta as my non-Italian eyes and ears had the two confused. But after making it with pancetta the second time, I liked it much, much better. When I finally learned that pancetta is made from pork belly, is cured (but not smoked like bacon) and needs to be cooked, and that prosciutto comes from the hind leg of the pig (the place where ham comes from), is cured for a much longer period of time, and can be eaten uncooked, I knew when I could make substitutions in recipes listing either one of them as an ingredient. Now when my Polish-American ears hear pancetta, they hear bacon and when they hear prosciutto, they hear ham.

If I have to make a choice between making a sweet or savory tart, more often than not I lean toward making a savory one. What I love most about savory tarts is their versatility. They can be perfect as an appetizer, a first course, a lunch or dinner entree and, in some cases, even as a dessert.  Although I must admit, I prefer ending a meal with a little bit of sweetness.  So you won't find me any time soon serving a savory tart for dessert.  Shudder the thought.

The pancetta and parmesan tart is equally delicious served warm from the oven or at room temperature. While my preference is to serve it as an appetizer, it can be served for lunch with a great salad or as a brunch dish.  While a relatively simple dish to make, it presents as something you have labored over. Depending on who you are serving this to, you can either let them think it was a time-consuming endeavor or that it was something you just whipped up on the fly.  This tart would only be more time intensive if you chose to make your own crust.  I have something called a tart-crust making aversion disorder at the moment. Probably curable, but the refrigerated pie crust by Pillsbury works so well I am not feeling compelled (yet) to make my own crust.  Soon maybe.

I have found it a rather interesting coincidence that pancetta generally comes packaged in four ounce quantities and a few of the recipes I have using pancetta call for four ounces. Not three ounces, not five ounces, just four ounces. Because it does not contain as much fat as bacon, a little extra virgin olive oil is heated in a skillet before the pancetta is added. Surprisingly it takes about 7 to 8 minutes for the pancetta to get crispy.  Once crispy, drain on a plate lined with paper towels.

Parmesan cheese is one of those ingredients that is best freshly grated.  Hands down Parmigiano-Reggiano has so much more depth of flavor than that of what I will call a generic parmesan cheese. Between the pancetta and the parmigiano-reggiano cheese, it's hard to say which one of these two ingredients is the reason why this tart is so unbelievably delicious.

Don't you just love a recipe where everything can mixed into just one bowl?  I must confess that I don't mind spending the time it takes to shop for ingredients or prepare a meal, but cleaning-up is another story. You don't even need to pull out a mixer or the KitchenAid for this recipe.  Just a whisk and a bowl, or my personal favorite, the large pyrex measuring cup. The whipping cream, milk, eggs, parsley, salt and pepper are mixed until well blended before the crispy pancetta and cheese are added in.

Once all combined, the mixture is poured into the prepared tart shell.  Often I will sprinkle a little of the leftover grated cheese over the top of the tart as well. To avoid any spillage in the oven, I usually place the tart pan on top of a cookie sheet before placing in the oven. For someone who doesn't like cleaning up the messy dishes, I would gladly take that chore over cleaning spills in the oven any day.

This tart is baked a relatively high temperature (400 degrees) in the lower third of the oven for approximately 25 minutes.  I usually set the timer for 20 minutes and check on it before adding any additional time.  The top puffs up and turns into a beautiful golden color.  When cooled the tart will deflate, not to worry.

Because I like to serve this tart at room temperature I usually make it sometime in the afternoon for an evening gathering.  It serves at least 6 to 8, but if your guests are greater in number consider making two of them, as they has been known to disappear rather quickly.

Recipe
Parmesan Pancetta Tart (slight adaptation of the recipe by Giada De Laurentiis)
Ingredients
1 refrigerated pie crust, room temperature (suggest the Pillsbury brand)
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
4 ounces pancetta, chopped
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup whole milk
3 large eggs, room temperature
3 Tablespoons freshly chopped flat Italian parsley
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon white or black pepper
2/3 cup grated/shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Press crust into a 9 inch removable bottom non-stick tart pan
3. Heat olive oil in heavy medium sized skillet over medium heat.  Add pancetta and saute until crisp.  Generally takes about 7-8 minutes. Remove pancetta, place on a plate lined with paper towels.
4. In a medium sized bowl, beat the cream, milk, eggs, parsley, salt and pepper with a whisk until well blended.
5. Stir in the cheese and pancetta.
6. Pour mixture into crust and bake for approximately 25 minutes in the lower third of the oven. The tart should be slightly puffed and golden in color.
7. Let rest for at least 15 minutes before cutting.

There have been a series of sudden deaths surrounding my family and friends on top of the recent tragedy in Boston. Beyond dealing with sadness of it all, these events only reaffirmed my belief that given life's unpredictability there are some things we should definitely not leave to chance. For me, the most important of those being friendships and relationships. Certainly we have all had those intense moments where you need walk away to collect your thoughts to avoid saying or doing anything to cause further harm or worse yet, regret.  Or sometimes we need just a little time and space to sort things out.  How we manage this 'time' seems to have been changed forever or maybe it really hasn't.  Maybe we have just taken some things, some people in our lives for granted.

No one in Boston or anywhere else for that matter thought for a moment this week that there would be a tragic loss of lives at the marathon. My sister's boss never thought it fathomable that his 47 year old wife and mother of four would leave this world suddenly one morning without any warning. In light of these daily, painful reminders that life can sometimes be fragile, if there is someone you care very much about, consider how much time you are letting go by before you decide to resolve a misunderstanding or a miscommunication or repair a friendship or relationship. What would be holding you back from letting someone know whether or not they matter to you or are you are willing to take the chance they will be there to listen when you are ready to talk? Time? Think I will be even more cognizant of how much time I think I want or even convince myself that I need. Pretty certain that I won't be taking time for granted any time soon as the risks seem even greater to me now.