Pasta with Bacon and Leeks

The Recipe

Courtesy of: Food Network Magazine - March 2014 Issue

Kosher salt
12 oz mezzi rigatoni (or other short pasta)
4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 bunch leeks (white and light green parts only), halved lengthwise, thinly sliced, and rinsed well
Freshly ground pepper
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
Chopped fresh parsley, for topping

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook as the label directs. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water; drain the pasta.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 8 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels; pour off all but 1 tbsp of the drippings from the skillet. 

Add the leeks to the drippings in the skillet. Season with 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the heavy cream and cook until it begins to thicken, about 2 minutes.

Add the pasta to the skillet along with the parmesan, half of the backon, and 1/2 tsp pepper; toss to coat, adding enough of the reserved pasta cooking water to loosen. 

To serve, top with the remaining bacon, more parmesan, and parsley.

Tips/Tweaks

Keeping it Healthy

Although the recipe calls for heavy cream, half and half works just as well. We also always use whole grain or whole wheat pasta. The Barilla whole grain pasta tastes just like normal pasta, if you are worried about trying that. And as always with bacon, we use low-sodium bacon.

Review

This recipe was very easy to prepare and therefore, a wonderful weeknight meal idea. The use of heavy cream and bacon drippings is actually not as rich as the recipe makes it sound. We definitely would recommend this recipe.