So, this delicious recipe for pasta with crispy bacon, courgette and herbs was found by me after searching 'ricotta recipes' in Google! I'd added a tub of ricotta to my online delivery the previous week, not entirely sure what I was going to use it for...but with the use by date fast approaching, I thought i'd better have a look. I found loads of spinach and ricotta recipes...but didn't have spinach in the fridge so they were all out.
I ended up on the delicious magazine website and came across this pasta with crispy bacon, courgette and herbs recipe - we had all the ingredients, except for dried tagliatelle (see Tips). I'd only planted fresh herb plants a couple of weeks ago in our herb boxes outside and have a large basil plant on the kitchen window sill, so had the fresh herbs too.
The finished dish is lovely and creamy, and smokey from the bacon. Each mouthful is slightly different as you get the fresh taste of lemon and the different herbs, and sometimes a crunch from the chunks of courgette (see Tips) and pistachios.
Tips
- The original recipe uses dried tagliatelle, however, we didn’t have any so I used dried spaghetti. After eating it, we decided that any pasta shape would work well.
- For the courgette, the original recipe says to slice it into ribbons, however, I decided to try it cut into chunks instead – either way is fine.
- The recipe is easily reduced or increased depending on how many people you’re cooking for.
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Ingredients
- 350g dried pasta (see Tips)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 100g smoked bacon, chopped into 1cm pieces
- 1 courgette, cut into chunks or sliced in ribbons (see Tips)
- 200ml single cream – we use Elmlea to reduce the calories
- 100ml vegetable or chicken stock
- 130g ricotta
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh chives
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh flatleaf parsley
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp torn fresh basil leaves
- 2 to 3 tbsp lemon juice, to taste
- 30g salted roasted shelled pistachios, roughly chopped, to serve
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Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta according to the pack instructions until cooked but still a little firm to the bite (al dente).
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan or casserole and fry the bacon until crisp. Add the courgette and fry for another minute. Add the cream and stock and bring just to a simmer – don’t boil.
- Drain the pasta and add to the cream in the pan along with 100g of the ricotta, most of the herbs and the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.
- Toss the pasta gently to coat, dot the remaining ricotta on top, then sprinkle over the remaining herbs and the chopped pistachios, to serve.
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Pasta with Crispy Bacon, Courgette and Herbs
Ingredients
- 350g dried pasta see Notes
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 100g smoked bacon chopped into 1cm pieces
- 1 courgette cut into chunks or sliced in ribbons (see Notes)
- 200ml single cream we use Elmlea to reduce the calories
- 100ml vegetable or chicken stock
- 130g ricotta
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh chives
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh flatleaf parsley
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp torn fresh basil leaves
- 2 to 3 tbsp lemon juice to taste
- 30g salted roasted shelled pistachios roughly chopped, to serve
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta according to the pack instructions until cooked but still a little firm to the bite (al dente).
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan or casserole and fry the bacon until crisp. Add the courgette and fry for another minute. Add the cream and stock and bring just to a simmer – don’t boil.
- Drain the pasta and add to the cream in the pan along with 100g of the ricotta, most of the herbs and the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.
- Toss the pasta gently to coat, dot the remaining ricotta on top, then sprinkle over the remaining herbs and the chopped pistachios, to serve.
Notes
- The original recipe uses dried tagliatelle, however, we didn’t have any so I used dried spaghetti. After eating it, we decided that any pasta shape would work well.
- For the courgette, the original recipe says to slice it into ribbons, however, I decided to try it cut into chunks instead – either way is fine.
- The recipe is easily reduced or increased depending on how many people you’re cooking for.
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