Or is it Lemony Cream Pasta?
Working with what we had in the fridge, this is what came out. We have a teething baby (why already at 10 weeks old? I thought we had another couple of months!) and a toddler who refused to nap today and was overtired, so it had to be quick and easy. We've all been sick so the more places I can include vitamin C, the better. This was the result this evening, and it seemed good enough to share, so here it is.
Ingredients:
500g tagliatelle
1 1/2 - 2 c slab bacon, cubed
2 onions, chopped
1 c mascarpone
1 c cream
1 lemon, peel strips and juice
1 tsp sumac
6(ish) c spinach, or 6 large frozen cubes
1 tbsp vinegar - I used homemade lemon vinegar, white wine vinegar would work too.
Salt and pepper
Optional: Cured egg yolk grated over the top
1) Boil the pasta until al dente, as per packet instructions. Drain setting aside 2c of pasta water. Stir in mascarpone, cream, vinegar and lemon juice. Add sumac, salt and pepper. Add necessary pasta water to achieve enough sauce to coat the pasta but not have it swimming.
2) Meanwhile, brown the bacon bits in a pan over medium heat. Add onions and fry for a few minutes until translucent. Add spinach and strips of lemon peel, cooking until spinach is wilted or defrosted, depending on what you're using.
3) Stir the bacon and spinach mix into the pasta. Grate cured egg yolk over the top if using. Taste test and serve warm (optionally with a nice rosé.)
We really enjoyed this. It came together quickly (the longest part was defrosting the spinach), it felt light but was flavourful. Little Bit objected to anything touching his pasta until he realised he was missing out on bacon. Definitely going to hold onto this one. Despite the cream, bacon and mascarpone, it was not overly rich or heavy. It would also have worked without the bacon (surprisingly, as I usually seem to think most things could be improved with bacon!), although it was certainly tasty with it!
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