Anna's Bacon and Pea Pasta

This recipe is perfect for using up bits and bobs lurking in the fridge and the freezer. It’s really quick to make, you could definitely do it in under 15 minutes so it’s great for when you come back from a lecture or a seminar and you just want something to eat FAST. Ok, so it’s more time consuming than a pot noodle, but it’s a hell of a lot tastier and better for you too.

For me, this recipe is a definite store-cupboard standby that doesn’t involve some gloopy ready meal sauce. I always keep long-life single cream or crème fraïche in the back of the fridge. It’s really cheap and won’t go off for ages, so I’m not that mad. Plus, as far as pasta goes, just use your favourite kind, any will work well. I’m into macaroni at the moment so I used that.

Serves 2 (or one if you’re me and hungry).

Ingredients:

• Knob of butter
• 2 rashers of bacon
• 2 handfuls of frozen peas
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• Single cream or crème fraiche
• Hard cheese (like cheddar or parmesan)
• Enough of your favourite pasta to serve two. About 150g should be enough for two but if in doubt, have a look at the instructions.

Method:

1) Boil the kettle for the pasta.

2) In a frying pan big enough for all the ingredients fry the onion and garlic in the knob of butter for about 4 minutes until the onion looks translucent and is soft.

3) Then add the chopped bacon and fry for a few more minutes until it looks done.

4) About this time you can put the pasta on, fill a big pan full of the boiled water and cook according to the instructions.

5) While the pasta’s cooking, add the frozen peas to the frying pan mixture. It’ll take a minute or two for them to thaw out. Add a spoonful of the pasta water to loosen the mixture and cook for a few minutes until the peas have fully defrosted.

6) When the peas are cooked, mash them with a fork in the pan until they’re all broken up, then take the pan off the heat and stir in a dessertspoon of either cream or crème fraiche. At this stage, the sauce should be chunky and glossy.

7) The sauce can rest now while you grate a handful of cheese and wait for the pasta to finish cooking.

8) Add another spoonful or two of the pasta water to your sauce if it’s looking a bit too thick, then stir in half a handful of your cheese, then season.

9) With the pasta cooked, drain it and then stir into your pan of sauce. The heat of the pasta will definitely warm up your sauce but if you’re worried, just stir it over the heat again, making sure it doesn’t dry out! If in doubt, another spoon of cream or water will always help.

10) Serve with the rest of the cheese sprinkled on top.

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