[ess_post]
This is one of those pasta dishes that is so comforting you could almost snuggle up with it in bed. Bacon and leek are the best of friends and when intertwined with al dente pappardelle and topped with super crunchy pangratatto you’re in for a real treat.
Ingredients
50g stale or day old bread
400g smoky bacon, thinly sliced
1 large leek, halved and sliced thinly on the diagonal
½ cup vegetable or chicken stock
1/3 cup cream
50g grated parmesan cheese
400g Pappardelle pasta
Recipe
Pangratatto: Place the stale bread in a small food processor and blitz until you have rough crumbs. Place into a sauté pan on medium heat with garlic olive oil and cook until golden and crisp. Set aside and keep warm.
Sauce: Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over a gentle heat and cook the thinly sliced bacon until golden and crispy. Remove the bacon and set to one side reserving the cooking oil in the pan. Place the leeks into the same pan with the lovely bacon flavoured oil and sauté on a low heat for 8-10 minutes until the leeks are soft and tender. At this point place your pappardelle into a large pot on a rolling boil and cook until al dente. 5-7 minutes.
While the pasta is cooking place the bacon back into the pan with the leeks, add the stock and cream, season to taste and simmer gently until thick and creamy. Grate in the parmesan and stir thought. Drain the pasta, add to the sauce and toss to combine, then tip out onto a serving platter or divide into 4 individual portions and top with the pangratatto and more grated parmesan cheese.
