Bucatini with Squash Blossoms and Guanciale

We understand the urge to stuff and deep fry your squash blossoms or add them to a quesadilla. Consider for a moment, however, a delightful pasta dish that combines the flavors of tender squash blossoms, salty guanciale (Italian cured pork jowl), and al dente bucatini pasta. We love our Farmer’s Markets in New Mexico and celebrate this week with recipes like the following: Bucatini with Squash Blossoms and Guanciale that will liven up any weekly menu.

What Are Squash Blossoms? 

The squash blossom is an edible flower that comes from the Cucurbita plant, which grows in New Mexico and many other regions of the Southwest. If you don’t live in New Mexico, you can order it online, or swap it out with another kind of edible flower, as there are many different kinds. This bucatini recipe is great on its own, but you can also enhance it by adding a red sauce, as bucatini is one of the major sauce players in the pasta world. It soaks up sauce flavor like no other, and combined with the mouthwatering guanciale and little herbaceous bite from the squash blossom, this dish is a winner.

Bucatini with Squash Blossoms and Guanciale

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• Author: Gabe Gomez

Print Recipe

Description

An unconventional twist on bucatini.

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Ingredients

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• 12 squash blossoms, de-stemmed and chopped
• 4 ounces guanciale, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 package of dry bucatini pasta
• 1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
• Pinch of salt and pepper
• Olive oil

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Instructions

1. Prepare the squash blossoms by removing the stems from the blossoms and rinse. Fine chop the blossoms to integrate with other ingredients and set aside.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Once boiling, add the bucatini pasta and cook until al dente. Reserve about 1 cup of pasta cooking water before draining.
3. Heat a drizzle of olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the diced guanciale and cook until it becomes crispy and browned, about 4-5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the guanciale to a paper towel-lined plate, leaving the rendered fat in the skillet.
4. Add the minced garlic to the same skillet with the rendered guanciale fat. Sauté for about 1 minute until fragrant.
5. Add the squash blossoms to the skillet and sauté for another 2-3 minutes.
6. Toss in the cooked bucatini pasta and crispy guanciale. Stir everything together to combine. Add some reserved cooking water.
7. Remove the skillet from the heat and sprinkle grated Pecorino Romano cheese over the pasta. Toss again to combine to create a silky sauce. Hit with a bit of salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Story by Gabe Gomez
Photo by Sebastian Coman 

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