[RADIO] Bacon, pea, red onion and cream pasta

As part of the first edition of my new show, Nick Coffer’s Weekend Kitchen (in it’s new Saturday midday slot), I pre-recorded a delicious recipe at home – bacon, pea and red onion pasta, with a creamy sauce.

As I have said before, we eat pasta at least three times a week in this house and I particularly love pastas where the sauce is ready in the time it takes for the pasta itself to cook. When you consider that I always have rashers of good quality bacon in the freezer as a perfect “just-in-case” ingredient, it’ll come as no surprise that bacon pastas are a regular occurrence here too!

This bacon, pea and bacon pasta is a classic, and a dead easy classic too. Impossible to get wrong, and impossible not to like. Here is the 4 minute recording of me cooking this live in my kitchen:

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And here’s the full recipe (adapted from the 2 people recipe from the radio to serve a family of 4 people). If you want the full 10 page fact sheet from the show, full of great recipes, head over to the show’s BBC page.

Farfale with a bacon, pea and red onion sauce

Serves 4
Preparation time 5 minutes
Total cooking time 15 minutes

400g pasta (farfale or penne work well)
1 red onion, finely sliced
6-8 rashers good quality cured bacon, sliced
3 handfuls frozen peas
2-4 tablespoons of crème fraîche
Good squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Freshly grated parmesan

1. Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet.
2. In a frying pan on a medium heat, pour a glug of olive oil and gently fry the onion for 5 minutes.
3. Add the bacon and continue to fry until the bacon starts to turn golden and the fat starts to crisp up.
4. With two minutes to go before the pasta is ready, stir the peas in with the bacon and onion.
5. Drain the cooked pasta.
6. Stir the creme fraiche into the frying pan and squeeze in a little lemon. Season well with salt an pepper.
7. Mix in the pasta and serve immediately with lots of freshly grated parmesan.