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Pasta with crispy bacon, courgette and herbs on an orange, blue and white patterned oval platter.

Pasta with Crispy Bacon, Courgette and Herbs

By: Deborah
The finished dish is lovely and creamy, and smoky from the bacon.  
PREP: 15 minutes
COOK: 15 minutes
TOTAL: 30 minutes
Course: Main
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 4 people
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Equipment

Ingredients

  • 350 g (12.3 oz) dried pasta (see Notes)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 100 g (3.5 oz) smoked bacon chopped into 1cm pieces
  • 1 courgette cut into chunks or sliced in ribbons (see Notes)
  • 200 ml (⅞ cup) single cream (I use Elmlea to reduce the calories!)
  • 100 ml (½ cup) vegetable or chicken stock
  • 130 g (4.6 oz) 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
  • 30 g (1.1 oz) 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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Nutrition

Calories: 654kcal | Carbohydrates: 73g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 85mg | Sodium: 390mg | Potassium: 595mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1125IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 145mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

KEYWORDS courgettes, herbs, pasta, quick meal, ricotta, smoked bacon, summer
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