MUSHROOM, PANCETTA AND BLUE CHEESE RIGATONI
Creamy dreamy pasta!
You can’t beat a bowl of creamy pasta, and I still crave these in the summer months. I ain’t about to be eating leaves all day long, I want a bit of indulgence peppered across my week.
The blue cheese in this adds a subtle tang nothing too funky, I’ve only just tapped into the blue cheese world so I act with caution in this recipe, but you can wack more in if you fancy!
Serves: 2
Total Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
200g rigatoni pasta
100g pancetta or smoked bacon lardons
200g mushrooms (sliced)
2 garlic cloves, minced
100ml chicken stock
100ml double cream
40g blue cheese, crumbled
Handful of fresh parsley, chopped
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the rigatoni pasta and cook according to the package instructions until al dente. Reserve a cup of pasta water.
While the pasta is cooking, heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the pancetta or smoked bacon lardons to the pan and cook until crispy and golden, about 5-7 minutes.
In the same pan, add the sliced mushrooms and cook until they release their moisture and become golden brown. Add the minced garlic and sauté for about 1 minute until fragrant.
Pour in the chicken stock and allow it to simmer for a few minutes, reducing slightly.
Stir in the double cream, bring to a simmer, then add the crumbled blue cheese to the sauce, stirring until melted and well combined.
Add the cooked rigatoni to the pan with the sauce, tossing everything together to coat the pasta evenly. If the sauce is too thick, add a splash of reserved pasta water to loosen it.
Stir in the chopped fresh parsley and season with salt and plenty of black pepper
Get stuck in!