Dear Eric: Is there a substitute for pancetta in recipes? My wife is a vegetarian.
Alan Linder, Federal Way, Wash.
Dear Alan: The best way to answer your question is to explain what pancetta is and how it’s used, and then determine what could replace it. Pancetta is Italian-style bacon that, like regular bacon, is cut from the belly (side) of the pig. Like regular bacon, pancetta is cured, but not smoked. Unlike regular bacon, pancetta is often rolled up and sold in a sausage-like form.
You can buy pancetta sliced or in a chunk, depending on how you plan to use it. For example, sliced, crisply cooked rounds of pancetta can be used to top salads, burgers or veal cutlets. Chunks of pancetta can be diced, fried and sprinkled on Caesar salad. It can also be diced and fried and used to accent such things as soups, pastas and stews.
If you didn’t eat meat and pancetta was only a bit player in a recipe that otherwise was vegetarian, a simple solution would be to omit it. For example, I sometimes make Italian-style cabbage soup strewn with other vegetables and pesto. For added richness, I’ll sometimes fry and add pancetta to it, but when I’ve not done that, I still had tasty soup.
If you felt the pancetta definitely needed to be replaced, the other option would be to try and mimic its rich, meaty taste with something vegetable-based.
There are many meat-free products available formulated to taste like things made with meat, from paté to pepperoni to ground round. I couldn’t find any designed to taste like pancetta, but there are those trying to duplicate the flavour of regular and Canadian bacon, items suggested in some recipes as a substitute for pancetta.
For example, Yves Veggie Cuisine sells meatless Canadian bacon; Club House makes simulated bacon bits; and Turtle Island Foods offers tempeh meatless bacon strips. There are several other items available; Google “vegetarian bacon products” to see them.
One of these products should be able to replace pancetta in a recipe. For example, in today’s kale-rich pasta dish, instead of using fried bits of pancetta, as I normally do, I crisped up and added tempeh meatless bacon and the taste was just fine.
Briefly, tempeh is made from cooked and cured soybeans. Beyond replacing the pancetta with it, the other recipe adjustment I made was to replace the rendered fat from the pancetta I would normally have cooked the vegetables in with good olive oil (not a hardship).
In a splendid new book called Plum: Gratifying Vegan Dishes, author Makini Howell of Seattle’s Plum Bistro uses seitan in some recipes. Howell says seitan is chewy wheat gluten derived from flour, with a texture closer to meat than any other vegan product. In the book, Howell cubes, fries and uses it in a dish called avocado salad with seitan bites. I can envision seitan used in this way as another substitute for pancetta.
Many guides say seitan can be found at most health food stores. However, I was unable to find it in Victoria, except for a puffy, oily, fried Asian-style version of it that would not be a good substitute for pancetta. That said, today’s questioner, Alan, lives in the Seattle area and he can buy seitan at Plum Bistro.
For more information go plumbistro.tumblr.com and click on store.
There are recipes online if you want to make it yourself.
Lastly, other substitutes for pancetta that would replace its texture, but not necessarily mirror its flavour, include olives or meaty cubes of portobello mushrooms.
Eric Akis, author of Everyone Can Cook Everything, writes Wednesday and Sunday in Life.
Pasta with Kale, Peppers and Tempeh Meatless Bacon
This tasty pasta dish is rich with earthy kale, sweet peppers, aromatic garlic and protein-source tempeh.
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 8-10 minutes
Makes: 4 servings
3/4 lb. (375 grams) bow tie or other bite-sized pasta
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 large leaves fresh kale, washed well, tough lower stems trimmed
1/2 medium red bell pepper, diced
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
• crushed chili flakes to taste
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 Tbsp olive oil
4 to 6 slices tempeh smoky maple meatless bacon, cut, widthwise, into 1/2-inch slices (see Note)
1/3 cup freshly Parmesan cheese, plus some for the table
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
In a large pot of lightly salted water, boil the pasta until just tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.
While the pasta cooks, cut kale leaves in half lengthwise. Now slice, widthwise, into strips. Place the 2 Tbsp oil in a large skillet set over medium heat. Add the kale, bell pepper, garlic, oregano and chili flakes. Cook and stir 5 minutes, until the kale has softened. Add the stock and bring to a simmer. While the kale simmers, heat the 1 Tbsp olive oil in a small skillet set over medium-high. Add the meatless bacon and cook until nicely coloured and somewhat crispy. When the pasta is cooked, reserve 1/2 cup of its cooking liquid, then drain the pasta well. Add the pasta, reserved cooking liquid and 1/3 cup of cheese to the skillet. Season with salt and pepper and toss to combine. Spoon the pasta into bowls and top with the pieces of meatless bacon. If desired, serve pasta with additional Parmesan.
Note: Tempeh meatless maple bacon is sold at some supermarkets and health food stores. I bought it in Victoria at Planet Organic (planetorganic.ca).