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Friday, May 28, 2010

Pasta with Bacon and Shallots

First, let me say this.  I once saw an episode of Anthony Bourdain's show on the travel channel.  I don't remember where he was or what he was eating, but he basically said that the difference between regular old people and people who know how to cook is their use (or lack thereof) of shallots.

Yes.

Shallots.

It seems that in our house at least one meal a week has the lovely purple shallot as a main ingredient.  I love these little onions.

This pasta dish is quick to whip up and sure to delight.  The ingredients are simple:

4-6 slices of thick bacon
1 whole shallot
1 cup milk
frozen peas
enough pasta for 2-4 people

The steps are as easy as the ingredient list.
1.  slice your bacon into small pieces and cook it in a large pan (not a skillet).
2.  remove bacon and cook your thinly sliced shallot in the bacon grease until the pieces are soft and beginning to brown.
3.  Add 1 cup milk to the shallot and bacon grease and stir until the milk starts to simmer.
4.  Once your sauce starts to simmer (it will happen quickly), turn down the heat, add your frozen peas, and give everything a stir.

This whole process takes about 15 minutes.  Long enough for you to boil water and cook your pasta.  Once the sauce is done, and your pasta is cooked and the water is drained throw your pasta into the sauce pan and mix it all together.  Let it stand a few minutes (leave the heat on very low if you'd like) so that the pasta starts to soak up the sauce.

Serve, top with bacon and enjoy.

Side Note: 
*Adding chicken to this dish is a nice touch, if you feel it needs some more protein.
*You can cook your shallots separate of the sauce, removing them from the pan before you add the milk and peas.  As they cool, they'll get crunchy adding a layer of texture to the dish.  You can just sprinkle them on top with the bacon when you're ready to serve.

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