Creamy Lemon Bacon Orecchiette
Orecchiette pasta in a creamy lemon bacon alfredo sauce with toasted lemon thyme panko crumbs sprinkled over the top. Our favorite pasta dinner!
Ingredients
- 16 oz orecchiette pasta
- 12 oz bacon
- 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
- 1 small onion very finely chopped (I pulse it through the ninja chopper)
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 Tbsp dried, (reserve a good pinch of the thyme for the panko)
- 2 lemons zested and juiced, (reserve a good pinch of the lemon zest for the panko)
- 1 cup half and half
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1-1/2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 2 cups frozen peas
- Pasta water
Topping:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 cup panko break crumbs
- Thyme and lemon zest reserved from above
Instructions
- Zest and then juice both of your lemons. Set aside.
- Remove thyme leaves from the woody stems. Discard stems and set leaves aside.
- In a large stock pot, cook the orecchiette pasta according to package directions. Reserve a mug of the pasta water and then drain the pasta and set aside.
- To make the topping: In a frying pan, toss the olive oil with the panko bread crumbs, a pinch of the thyme leaves and a pinch of the lemon zest over medium heat until lightly browned. Remove from heat and set aside.
- To make the pasta sauce: Cut the raw bacon in to little strips and fry in a large skillet, (I use a 5-6 qt), until crispy. Drain off the excess bacon fat.
- Add in the butter, onion, garlic and thyme and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the lemon juice and the rest of the lemon zest and bring to a simmer, stirring frequently.
- Slowly drizzle in the half and half and heavy cream. Stir in the shredded Parmesan, salt and pepper and stir until everything is melted together. Bring back to a simmer, stirring frequently.
- Stir in the frozen peas, then pour the sauce over the orecchiette pasta and toss everything together. Add some pasta water, a few tablespoons at a time, to thin out the sauce to the desired consistency.
- Sprinkle half of the panko bread crumbs over the top of the pasta and serve immediately. (Serve the other half of the bread crumbs at the table to sprinkle over the individual servings along with some extra shaved Parmesan cheese.)
Notes
*Note: You could use a different kind of pasta in a pinch, but I love how the little orecchiette cups catch the bacon and peas in the sauce and I was able to find it pretty easily at Walmart. Also, don't like peas? Feel free to leave them out or do like me and serve them on the side so those of us who like them can stir them in and those who don't can have it without!