Cheese and Bacon Pasta

[Falcon2004]

Hi

A very basic thing here from me, Im trying to be more adventurous in the kitchen (Im a typical student, pot noodle and take aways) but i really like pasta etc so i thought Id try something new out.

Ingredients (Per Person):
- 100g-120g of Pasta
- 2 Rashers of bacon
- 350g(ish) of cheese
- 1/2 oz (how many grams is that?) of Butter
- 1/2 Oz of Flour
- 1/4 of a pint of milk
- 1/2 a tea-spoon of Mixed Herbs
- Salt & Peper (fresh ground = better)

Pasta:
1. Cook the pasta in lightly salted water for about 15 minutes (hard eh? =P)
2. Drain and add a little peper

Bacon:
1. Cut all rind and fat away and lightly grill untill slightly crispy
2. Cut cooked bacon into small pieces (about 1CM x 1CM)

Sauce:
1. Add the butter and milk to a saucepan and warm on a medium heat untill the butter has melted, add the flour and whisk in making sure there are no lumps.
2. Simmer for around 3 minutes while continuously stiring, the suace should be fairly think but still runny.
3. Grate the cheese and add about 80% of it into the sauce (not all at once) continuously sitrring untill the cheese has all melted.
4. Add 1/2 Teaspoon of Mixed herbs abd stir in

Prperation:
1. Add about 1/2 of the remaining cheese to the bottom of the serving bowl/plate along with about half of the bacon bits.
2. Pour the paster over the top.
3. Add the remaining bacon bits and the remaining cheese.
4. Pour over the sauce and add pepper to taste.

An voila, a tasty and filling meal, at least thats what I thought anyway...

Any comments (good or bad) accepted
Falcon

[petrefax]

you could add some chopped leeks too - they go well with bacon, cheese & pasta

[funnelhead]

put a ****ing sausage in it

no denying this would be a tasty snack

[Rave]

Add a bit of egg and you've got a classic Carbonara, pretty much. A bit of ham is alright if you've not got bacon; bacon is preferable though. I always grate a lot of pepper on top, I find that sets it off perfectly.

Rich :¬)

[[R4A]Bigman]

Just made this meal. V tasty!

A few things that might improve it.

When I made it I made it with a mere 100g of cheese (didnt have any more ) but it was plenty cheesey enough. So maybe a cutdown on the cheese (makes it cheaper AND more healthy!).

Also, I think tossing all the bacon in with the pasta after it is drained would achieve a greater mix of pasta and bacon, thus allowing a more consistant meal.

Then also not using any 'dry' cheese on top or under the main pasta, and simply using the sauce would be good. I found the 'dry' cheese made the meal a little dry in places.

Finally, it has the unfortunate really bland look (like someones spewed milk everywhere or something ), so perhaps using an interesting coloured cheese would help its image (like Red Leciester or similar) and also adding greenery (as already suggested).

[Rave]

Finally, it has the unfortunate really bland look (like someones spewed milk everywhere or something ), so perhaps using an interesting coloured cheese would help its image (like Red Leciester or similar) and also adding greenery (as already suggested).

The best pasta to make this with IMO is Tagliatelli (sp?). You can get multi-coloured (e.g. white/orange/green) Tagliatelli easily if you're worried about the presentation.

I like cheese a lot so I tend to put quite a bit in- I'm not worried about the health aspect so much, but it does make it a bit expensive.

Rich :¬)

[myth]

I must try this! However I'll just go out and buy some souce!

[Nick]

Bung a couple of spoons of Basil Pesto through it! That'll 'green' it up a bit and its tastes delish too!

[daniel_owen_uk]

No expert but a couple of mushrooms could make this a belting snack