Cream Pasta
Quick answer
- Total time
- 30 min
- Level
- Easy
- Servings
- 2 servings
- Ingredients
- 10
About this dish
Bacon crisped in butter leaves behind a smoky, salty fat, and the onion and garlic cook in it before any cream arrives.
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Milk thins the cream until the sauce coats a spoon lightly instead of sitting heavy on the pasta. A hard boil reduces it too far and can split it, while a gentle simmer at the edges keeps it smooth. Parmesan melts in after the heat is off, and either penne or spaghetti works.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
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.
- 2
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.
- 3
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.
- 4
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.
- 5
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.
- 6
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.
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