Pancetta is a lightly spiced cured bacon from Italy. It’s made from pork belly and is cured in salt, pepper and sometimes, mild spices. It is sold rolled into a sausage shape.
There is also a smokedversion of pancetta which is sold in thin strips rather than rolled.
By Nachoman-au (A digital photograph taken by myself.) [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC BY-SA 2.5], via Wikimedia CommonsPancetta is sliced thin and eaten raw as an antipasto or in sandwich. For cooking it’s is often cut into cubes (cubetti di pancetta) and used as an ingredient in spaghetti all carbonara.
