Mushroom, bacon and mascarpone pasta

This is a quick and easy recipe I came up with as we were debating about what to do for lunch in the weekend.  It evolved from what was already sitting in our pantry and fridge – hence the use of dried mushrooms.  Of course, you could use fresh mushrooms if you want to.  I used a mixture of different dried mushrooms, but the porcini in particular really gave this dish an amazing depth of flavour.  I really love porcini mushrooms and usually keep dried ones in the pantry to make really tasty and easy pasta dishes with, or to cook up in a sauce to put on top of grilled meat like a steak.

I also had mascarpone left over to use up from the batch that I had made up the other day.  Just note that you need to serve immediately as the mascarpone melts very quickly and so it won’t stay looking creamy.

Also, be warned – this is not a dish for the health-conscious!  It does contain bacon and mascarpone after all.  Stop reading now if you’re on a diet!

 

 

Mushroom, bacon and mascarpone pasta

 

Serves 2

 

Ingredients

100g mascarpone cheese

3-4 rashers of bacon, diced

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 Tbsp olive oil

30g dried mushrooms (I used a mixture of porcini, oyster, shiitake and portobello)

200g dried pasta (I used gnocchetti – you can add more pasta if you want a bigger serve)

2 Tbsp roughly chopped Italian flat leaf parsley

parmesan

 

Method

Soak the dried mushrooms in hot water for 15-20 minutes, until softened.  Drain and then roughly chop.

Cook the pasta according to instructions on packet.

Meanwhile, fry the bacon in the olive oil until it starts to get crispy.  Add the garlic and mushrooms and continue to cook until the bacon is as crispy as you want it to be.

Add in the pasta and parsley and stir everything together.  Take off the heat and then stir through the mascarpone.  Season to taste and then serve immediately, sprinkled with the parmesan on top.