Pasta with agretti and speck

Pasta with agretti and speck is a spring dish full of flavor, blending the delicacy of agretti with the savory taste of speck. Here’s how you can prepare it.

Ingredients

• 320 g of pasta (penne, spaghetti, or your preferred shape)
• 200 g of trimmed and washed agretti
• 100 g of thinly sliced speck, cut into strips
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Extra virgin olive oil (to taste)
• Salt (to taste)
• Black pepper (to taste)
• 50 ml of white wine (optional)
• Grated Parmesan cheese (optional, for serving)

Preparation

1. Start by cleaning the agretti, removing the roots and the harder parts. Then, rinse them well under running water to remove any soil residue.
2. Bring a pot of generously salted water to a boil and cook the agretti for about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
3. In the same water, cook the pasta according to the package instructions until al dente.
4. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat a drizzle of oil and sauté the whole garlic cloves until golden. If you prefer, you can remove them later to mitigate the intensity of the flavor.
5. Add the speck to the skillet and let it cook until it becomes crispy.
6. If you decide to use white wine, pour it into the skillet now and let the alcohol evaporate over medium heat.
7. Add the cooked agretti to the same pan with the speck and toss everything together to flavor.
8. Drain the pasta al dente, saving some of the cooking water, and add it to the skillet with the agretti and speck.
9. If necessary, add a bit of the reserved cooking water to keep the pasta moist and to create a light sauce.
10. Adjust salt and pepper to taste and stir well to combine the ingredients.

Serve hot, with a sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese if desired.

Fun Fact

Agretti, also known as “monk’s beard,” is a vegetable typical of Mediterranean cuisine, especially Italian, and is appreciated for its slightly tart flavor. In this recipe, the pairing with speck provides a very pleasant contrast in texture and taste to the palate.