Penne With Brussels Sprouts and Crisp Bacon

Submitted by quotFoodThe Way To

"An unlikely pairing,but quick and tasty."

 

• Ready In: 35mins
• Ingredients: 10
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 12 ounces penne pasta, uncooked
• 3 cups Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 2 slices bacon
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth
• 3⁄4 cup parmigiano-reggiano cheese, grated and divided
• 1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
• 1 tablespoon pine nuts, toasted and chopped (optional)

directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain well.
2. Trim Brussels Sprouts, discarding the tough outer leaves and trimming off about 1/4-inch from stems. **Don't trim too much from the stems, or the sprouts will fall apart.
3. Steam Brussels Sprouts, covered, 7 minutes or until tender;drain and sprinkle with salt.
4. Cook bacon in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 1 teaspoons drippings in pan; crumble bacon and set aside.
5. Add Brussels Sprouts to the bacon drippings in pan; saute 5 minutes or until lightly browned.
6. Stir in cooked pasta; cover mixture and keep warm.
7. Combine milk, flour, and broth, stirring well with a whisk.
8. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
9. Gradually add milk mixture; stirring constantly with a whisk until well blended.
10. Cook for 6 minutes or until thickened; stir in 1/4 cup cheese, stirring cheese until melted.
11. Pour sauce over pasta mixture, tossing to coat.
12. Top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese, nuts, bacon, and pepper; Serve immediately.

Reviews

[Ilysse]

Yum! Thats what everyone said, even the picky 6 year old. I cut the brussels sprouts into quarters as they were a bit on the large side. I also used pancetta rather than bacon (8 thin slices) and 16 oz of pasta but left the cream sauce amounts alone and I think it was the perfect amount. Don't panic if the sauce doesn't seem to thicken enough in the pot. It gets to a cream or condenced milk consistency then when you pour it over the pasta it thickens more from the starch in the pasta and coats the pasta perfectly. I also added all the cheese in at once rather than in stages, a goof, but it worked fine. I somehow managed to get everything ready at the same time and used 2 pots and 1 pan, it wasn't as crazy as I feared LOL. This goes into the tried and true book and I think I'll send it to my mom who loves brussels sprouts. Thanks for posting this great recipe. Update: Family still loves this but I wanted to add that I've used broccoli, turkey bacon and skim milk with good results.

 

[bmcnichol]

This got mixed ratings at our house. I liked it but hubby didn't. I followed the recipe as written other then I didn't add the optional pine nuts. I thought it was a tasty different side dish (so I rated on my liking not his LOL)