Bacon and Mushroom Pasta

I had a lovely weekend of vampires, my first visit to Nandos and watching the Chinese New Year celebrations in Chinatown and Trafalgar Square. It was even more fantastic as I had good company and had originally had no plans for the weekend at all! I needed something warming after standing out in the cold for a bit yesterday, so I had this lovely bacon and mushroom pasta dish which did the trick. I added a bit of samphire which needed using up and also used yoghurt rather than creme fraiche as that's what I had in the fridge and it was delicious and easy too!



Bacon and Mushroom Pasta (from Good Food Magazine October 2005)
(Serves 4)

400g penne pasta
250g pack chestnut or button mushrooms
8 rashers streaky bacon
4 tbsp pesto
200ml carton 50% fat crème fraîche
handful basil leaves

Cook the pasta in boiling water in a large non-stick saucepan according to pack instructions. Meanwhile, slice the mushrooms and snip the bacon into bite-size pieces with scissors or a sharp knife.

Reserve a few drops of the cooking water in a cup or bowl, then drain the pasta and set aside. Fry the bacon and mushrooms in the same pan until golden, about 5 mins. Keep the heat high so the mushrooms fry in the bacon fat, rather than sweat.

Tip the pasta and reserved water back into the pan and stir over the heat for 1 min. Take the pan off the heat, spoon in the pesto and crème fraîche and most of the basil and stir to combine. Sprinkle with the remaining basil to serve.