Penne with Broccoli, Cheddar & Bacon

This turned out to be such a great weeknight meal, the 5 in 5 cookbook really has been a great investment. I've been using it a lot lately, and it has turned our weeknight meals into less prep, money & time but lots of great dishes.

This dinner is a play on broccoli with cheese, only it has a few more ingredients to kick that dish up about 10 notches. I made the full batch to have some leftover for lunch. You could serve a salad and bread with this or just the pasta all by its lonesome. I used walnuts in place of pine nuts because they are cheaper and just as yummy to us.

Penne with Broccoli, Cheddar & Bacon      

Serves 4-6

Penne with Broccoli, Cheddar & Bacon

ingredients

• 1 lb penne pasta
• 1 head broccoli, cut into bite size florets
• 1 tbsp EVOO
• 6 slices thick apple wood smoked bacon, diced
• 3/4 cup roughly chopped walnuts
• 1 1/2 cups sharp aged cheddar, shredded, plus more for topping
• 1 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes

• Kosher Salt & Freshly Cracked Black Pepper

directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the package directions. (until al dente). Reserve 1 cup cooking water and drain the pasta.

2. Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until crispy. Remove from skillet with a slotted spoon and drain paper towel lined plate. Drain the bacon grease from the skillet and add the EVOO, broccoli and nuts. Cook for 1-2 minutes until nuts are light golden brown.

3. Add the bacon back to the skillet and toss. Add 1 cup reserved pasta water to the skillet and deglaze the pan. Cook for 1 minute then reduce the heat to low and stir in the cheese & red pepper flakes. When cheese has melted and in fully incorporated add the cooked pasta. Stir until well combined and serve with more cheese on top.

Note: if the sauce seems too thick then just add a few more splashes of the pasta cooking water until it's the consistency you want. I saved 2 cups for that reason. I just ladle the pasta water out into a glass measuring cup right before I drain the pasta for these type of dishes.

Enjoy!

This recipe was adapted from Michael Simon.