Thursday, September 06, 2012

Creamy Bacon Parmesan Pasta

Just made this sauce on a whim and I want to write it down so I won't forget to make it again.  I served it over medium pasta shells, and it was a hit with everyone in the family! Start to finish, this takes about 15-20 minutes to complete.  Serves 6-8.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 3 Tbsp. olive oil or butter, or some mix of the two
  • 1/4 c. chicken broth, then also 1 1/2 c. chicken broth
  • 1/4 - 1/3 c. flour
  • garlic salt
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
  • 10 thick slices of bacon-- the good thick, real stuff, not Oscar Mayer/whatever, chopped against the width/grain (so each piece of bacon in your sauce is roughly 1 inch long, but in thin slices, hope that makes sense-- I stacked the strips of bacon into one tall stack, and sliced down the stack, widthwise)
  • 1 c. heavy cream 
  • 1 1/2 c. whole milk
  • Shaved parmesan/asiago/romano cheese to taste
Heat the oil/butter over med-high heat, with 1/4 c. chicken broth and add the chopped onion.  Lightly salt the onions.  Cook 3 minutes, or longer, until softened w/ good aroma.  (While the onions are sauteeing, put water in your pasta pot and start your water boiling.) Add in the bacon and garlic.  Cook approx. 5-8 minutes, still on med-high heat, until meaty part of bacon has turned bright red and is cooked, but not hardened.  Add in 1/2 tsp. salt, and as much flour as is necessary to soak up the oil/juices into the flour.  This will be similar to a roux, except your meat is already in there.  Make sure you scrape the bottom clean, to get up any flavorful bits and keep it from sticking.  Now, add your remaining chicken broth, stir in, and then add your cream, stirring occasionally.  Add in 1/2 tsp. garlic salt, 1/4 tsp. pepper, and 2 Tbsp. fresh rosemary.  Stir until thickened, then add in the whole milk, and wait for the sauce to thicken again.  (This whole thickening process can take anywhere from 1-3 minutes.)

Serve over the hot pasta of your choice, and use shaved parmesan/asiago/romano generously to garnish the top.  Enjoy!  (We just did!)

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