Cream Pasta
Quick answer
- Total time
- 30 min
- Level
- Easy
- Servings
- 2 servings
- Ingredients
- 10
About this dish
Cream pasta begins with bacon rendered crisp in butter, building a fat base that carries the flavor of everything that follows.
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Diced onion and minced garlic cook in the rendered fat until soft and fragrant before the heavy cream and milk go in, which is the combination that gives the sauce body without making it too dense. Heavy cream alone would weigh the pasta down, so the milk lightens the mixture to a consistency that clings to each strand without pooling at the bottom of the bowl. The cooked pasta is transferred directly into the sauce pan while still hot, and two to three tablespoons of starchy pasta water are stirred in to help the sauce emulsify and adhere evenly to the noodles. Freshly grated Parmesan is added off the heat so it melts smoothly rather than clumping, contributing a salty edge and a fermented depth that rounds out the simple cream base. The finished dish layers the smoky, cured saltiness of bacon against the mild richness of cream and the aged sharpness of Parmesan for a well-balanced, satisfying bowl.
Ingredients
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Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Finish
Bring a large pot of water to a full boil, salt it, and cook 200 g penne until 1 minute short of the package time.
Reserve 2-3 tablespoons of starchy pasta water before draining.
- 2Heat
While the pasta cooks, finely dice half an onion and mince 2 garlic cloves so they soften quickly.
Cut 80 g bacon into bite-size pieces, keeping them similar in size so they crisp evenly in the pan.
- 3Control
Set a wide pan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter, and add the bacon.
Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring often, until the edges brown and the fat renders, leaving that fat in the pan.
- 4Heat
Add the onion and garlic to the same pan and lower the heat to medium low.
Cook for 2-3 minutes, until the onion turns translucent and the garlic smells fragrant, reducing the heat if the garlic starts coloring.
- 5Control
Pour in 200 ml heavy cream and 100 ml milk, then simmer gently over low heat for 5 minutes.
The sauce should bubble only around the edges and lightly coat a spoon, not boil hard or reduce too thickly.
- 6Season
Add the drained pasta to the sauce with 2-3 tablespoons pasta water and toss for about 1 minute until glossy.
Turn off the heat, fold in 20 g Parmesan, then adjust with salt and black pepper.
Practical Cooking Checks
The cues that matter most while cooking.
- Key technique
- Bacon renders crisp first, and diced onion cooks in the fat before heavy cream and milk reduce into the pasta coating.
- Finish cue
- Add the drained pasta to the sauce with 2-3 tablespoons pasta water and toss for about 1 minute until glossy.
Cooking decision evidence
Calculated Charim data and applicable official cooking and food safety guidance.
This recipe
30min, 10 ingredients
Category median
35min, 9 ingredients
Based on 109 recipes
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