Broiled Bacon and Pea Cream Pasta
Crisp bacon, sweet peas and a silky parmesan cream sauce cling to hot pasta, finished under the broiler for a golden, lightly charred top. A fast one-pot dinner that tastes rich and comforting.
- Total
- 19 min
- Prep 4 · Cook 15
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Rendering fat · Cooking al dente
- Savory
- Quick
- Stovetop
- Oven
Instructions
-
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, add 0.5 tsp salt and the 100 g pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes.
~8 min
Salting the water seasons the pasta from within and helps it cook evenly to a firm al dente bite.
Cooking al dente Bite a piece a minute before the package time; it should be tender but still firm at the center, never soft or chalky.
-
While step 1 cooks
While the pasta boils, cut the 60 g bacon into 1 cm pieces and grate the 30 g parmesan.
~3 min
-
While step 1 cooks
While the pasta finishes, heat 1 tsp olive oil in a small oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat, add the bacon and cook until browned and crisp, 4 to 5 minutes.
~5 min
Rendering the bacon over medium-high heat crisps it and releases flavorful fat that will season the sauce.
Rendering fat Cook bacon over medium-high heat so the fat melts out gradually and the meat crisps; too-hot heat burns the outside before the fat renders.
-
Drain the pasta in a colander and set it aside.
~1 min
Reserve a few tablespoons of the starchy pasta water before draining; a splash loosens the cream sauce if it tightens too much before the broiler.
-
Add the 80 g frozen peas and 80 ml cream to the skillet with the bacon and simmer until the peas are tender and the cream thickens slightly, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the drained pasta, the grated parmesan and 0.25 tsp black pepper until the sauce coats every strand.
~4 min
Simmering reduces the cream so it thickens and clings, while the starch from the pasta helps emulsify the sauce.
-
Heat the broiler to high. Spread the pasta mixture evenly in the skillet and broil 10 to 15 cm from the element until the top is bubbling and lightly charred in spots, 2 to 3 minutes.
~3 min
High, close-up broiler heat browns and lightly chars the surface fast before the pasta underneath dries out.