Penne with Brussels Sprouts and Bacon

I purchased brussel sprouts on a whim while out grocery shopping. We both enjoy eating them, and for whatever reason they looked really tasty when i had walked past them at the store. Fast forward a few days, and we realized we needed to cook them up before they turned and went bad. After some googling alongside other ingredients we had, we came across this recipe. It’s delicious! In fact, we both liked it so much, we actually made it a second time only a few days later.

Well don’t let me hold you back. Here’s the recipe… Go get started cooking!

Penne with Brussels Sprouts and Bacon

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Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine Italian

Servings 0 servings

Ingredients

  

• Sea salt
• 8 ounces penne
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil more for drizzling
• 4-6 slices Bacon, thick cut diced
• 1 large rosemary sprig or 1 tbsp dried
• 3-6 garlic cloves minced
• 1 jalapeño or Serrano chile thinly sliced (or substitute 1-2 large pinch crushed red pepper flakes)
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 8 ounces brussels sprouts thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons butter
• Fresh lemon juice for serving
• Parmesan cheese, grated optional (or pecorino cheese)

Instructions

 

• Bring large pot heavily salted water to a boil. Add the penne and cook until pasta is just al dente (do not overcook).
• Meanwhile, heat large sauté pan over high heat and add the olive oil. When oil is hot, add the pancetta and rosemary, and sauté until the fat on the bacon starts to turn translucent and very lightly brown, about 1 minute.
• Add the garlic, chile and freshly ground black pepper to taste, and sauté until garlic and bacon turn richly brown, about 3 minutes.
• Add the brussels sprouts, a large pinch of salt and a splash of water to pan, and sauté until sprouts just start to soften, about 2 minutes. Spread sprouts mixture in pan and press down to flatten. Let it sear for a minute, then stir it up and repeat. This helps brown the sprouts. Add the butter, and sauté for another minute.
• Drain penne and add it to pan with brussels sprouts mixture. Cook, tossing, until everything is well mixed. Spoon into pasta bowls and top with a drizzle of oil and lemon juice, and a little cheese if you like.

Notes

We find leftovers of this store well adding lemon juice before going into the fridge, and later adding a little butter to it when reheating, adding the cheese topping after reheating.

Original recipe: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014359-penne-with-brussels-sprouts-chile-and-pancetta

Keyword Bacon, Brussel Sprouts, Pasta, Penne

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