Creamy bacon and mushroom pasta

1. Cut the streaky bacon, cook in frying pan and set aside.
2. Fry mushrooms and finely sliced spring onions in olive oil.
3. Add bacon, wine and cream. Cook until sauce thickens.
4. Add ground pepper and grated parmesan.
5. Following the package instructions, cook fettucine in salted water, until al dente and drain.
6. Plate pasta and serve sauce on top. Serve with finely sliced parmesan, ground pepper and basil leaves.

Recipe notes:

Mushrooms – It’s absolutely fine to use whatever mushrooms you have on hand. We’ve suggested button mushrooms in the recipe but Swiss Brown or Portobello or Shiitake mushrooms would all work equally well. 

White wine – White wine is the essential ingredient. It’s used to deglaze the bacon fat and mushrooms from the frying pan, adding flavour complexity to a very simple sauce. Any dry white wine will work well – either Pinot Gris or Sauvignon Blanc are good choices. 

Pasta – Use any long strand of pasta for this recipe – angel hair pasta, spaghetti, or our favourite, fettucine.  

FAQ:

My sauce is the wrong texture. What should I do? 

Before draining your cooked pasta, set aside about 1 cup of pasta water. If the bacon mushroom sauce needs to thicken, slowly add in a small amount of the pasta water until it reaches the right consistency.  

Will this recipe still work with light cream?

Yes – just toss the pasta with a splash of the pasta cooking water. The extra starch will help the sauce thicken. 

What wine should I use in this recipe?

See Recipe notes – White wine.