Quick Four Cheese Pasta With Bacon and Peas

Submitted by lawmama

"This pasta dish is especially great because there's no need to boil the pasta separately; instead, it cooks right in the sauce. I Adapted from CooksIllustrated.com."

 

• Ready In: 30mins
• Ingredients: 9
• Serves: 5

ingredients

• 4 slices bacon, chopped fine
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3⁄4 lb penne
• 1⁄2 cup parmigiano-reggiano cheese, grated
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 cup four cheese blend, shredded

directions

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 500 degrees.
2. Cook bacon, onion and garlic in a large nonstick skilled over medium-high heat until onion is softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Add broth, cream, pasta, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cover and bring to a boil.
4. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring frequently, until pasta is tender, about 15 minutes.
5. Off heat, stir in Parmaigiano-Reggiano cheese, 1/2 cup of the shredded Italian four-cheese blend and peas and season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
6. Sprinkle with the remaining shredded cheese.
7. Bake until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. Serve.

Reviews

[Alisson K.]

This recipe is great. I changed out greek yogurt for the whole cream--but mixed it with cheese at the end before throwing in the oven. I also used a whole pound of whole wheat pasta and 4 cups of stock (who wants to leave 1/4 of a bag of pasta or stock lying around). The yogurt made it so yummy and tangy (and a bit lighter too). Will definitely make it again!

 

[AZPARZYCH]

This was very good and cooked up quickly! Would also be good with some diced chicken or shrimp added for a one pot meal. Made for 2012 Spring PAC.

 

[mydesigirl]

Fantastic! Very easy to throw together. I followed PHM's tip on adding the garlic later so it wouldn't burn. I made extra bacon to put on the top but otherwise followed the recipe perfectly. Everyone liked it a lot. Thanks so much for posting!

 

[iewe7726]

This was very good -- though I did do what someone else suggested and added the garlic later to make sure it didn't burn. Very easy recipe to throw together -- thanks :)

 

[Parrot Head Mama]

EXCELLENT. I made this last night, and not ONLY did it only take 20 minutes to make, but I had clean plates all around. The only thing I'd change next time was to put the garlic in after the bacon is done to your liking...it wasn't quite crisp enough for me, yet the garlic was almost burning. VERY GOOD.