Two & A Knife

I love playing around with pasta shapes. On the rare occasion I go to the store without a list I always go to the pasta aisle pick out some funky shapes and hope inspiration will hit somewhere. At worst I don’t find inspiration and I just keep the box in the pantry. At best I come up with a tasty recipe like this to share today. This pasta has it all, a creamy sauce, crispy bacon and fun pasta. I can only describe orecchiette pasta as a shell pasta without the shell curve so its easy for sauce and toppings to really nestle in there. It’s one of my faves.Try it out and let me know what you think!

Ingredients

• 12oz orecchiette pasta
• 1/2lb thick cut bacon, sliced
• 1 large leek, sliced
• 10 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2c Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2tsp salt
• 2.5TB flour
• 2.5c milk
• 2 TB parsley

Directions

• Start off by browning a bacon in a skillet on medium heat till its brown and crispy.
• Once cooked remove and set on paper towel.
• Add in leek and sauté for 5 minutes till browned, add in garlic and 1 tsp salt.
• Once leeks are done set to the side in separate container, using a slotted spoon. You’ll need 1 Tb bacon fat left in pan.
• Add flour to the pan to tighten up the fat. (You may need more flour if you left too much fat in the pan )
• Add in milk and heat slowly, stir till thickened Add in 1tsp salt. While sauce is thickening Boil pasta in heavily salted water according to cooking instructions on the package.
• Once sauce is thicken toss in cooked pasta, bacon (reserve some for the top), parsley, black pepper, and parmesan cheese. Toss and top with a bit extra parmesan, parsley and bacon. Serve warm and Enjoy!