I love it. It may be artery-clogging material, but I’ll make up for it by eating my greens and by faithfully attending my Monday workout, which has already created one new muscle on my left leg called ‘Fred.’ It’s all about balance–I like to compensate for things (read: ‘bacon’) rather than cutting them out, as you may have guessed if you have visited some of my other heavy whipping cream and blue cheese-laden recipes.
This dish is quick to whip up, and dreadfully satisfying to dig into. And even though I’m calling it “rich” in the title, I must emphasize to you that IT IS VERY RICH. You won’t need a ton of sauce to go over your bowl of pasta. Oh, and it’s delicious as well over white rice, which is how I chose to consume the abundant leftovers.
My husband loved it. I loved it. Will you you love it, too? I say there’s a 99% chance if you’re in my immediate family, but a 0% chance if you’re my cousin Luke and can’t eat the pasta (gluten intolerant) or the sauce (lactose intolerant).
Let’s dive in! Get ready for a swim on the dangerous side of sauce.
Ingredients
(Serves 5)
1 lb cooked farfalle pasta
1 lb bacon
1 large onion, roughly chopped
3 TBS dry sherry or wine
1-26 oz can spaghetti sauce*
1 c heavy whipping cream
2 TBS crème fraîche
3/4 c blue cheese crumbles
salt, to taste
1/2 tsp sugar, to taste
generous amounts of black pepper
cilantro or herbs, to garnish
*you can use plain tomato sauce; just add some brown sugar, garlic and dry herbs to create your own flavor
First, chop up and sauté that bacon in a deep skillet over medium-high heat.
While the bacon is cooking, give the onion a rough dice. Once the bacon starts getting brown, add the onion and continue to sauté until the onion is softened.
This whole process can take a while, maybe 12 minutes or so . . . I wasn’t counting.
Now it’s time to drain the excess grease out of the pan. There’s a lot, and we don’t want this sauce to precipitate an immediate trip to the hospital. Grab your baster and suck out the good stuff. I mean, the bad stuff.
Good, bad, bad, good–it’s all just so relative.
Look at all this grease we have successfully discarded:
Now, add the sherry and deglaze the pan, scraping up any brown bits.
Let it boil away a little, for 2-3 minutes.
Add the spaghetti sauce.
I used a dented can from Big Jake, but you can use any kind, really. And if you’re against premade spaghetti sauce, use regular tomato sauce with some spices (garlic powder, salt and pepper, thyme, oregano, some sugar).
Cover the pan and let the sauce simmer on medium-low for about 10-12 minutes. If you are by chance using diced tomatoes instead of tomato sauce, you want to leave the pan uncovered and increase the cooking time here, so that the majority of the liquid boils off.
Now it’s time to throw caution to the winds. Grab that crème fraîche:
And eat some! Seriously, it’s part of the recipe.
See the finger swipes? If you have any sense at all for who I am as a person, you knew this was inevitable.
Add the sugar, cream, crème fraîche, blue cheese, and salt and pepper to taste.
A good substitution for crème fraîche if your grocery store doesn’t carry it is sour cream mixed with mascarpone. Stir the whole creamy mess until everything is incorporated and heated through. Dip in your spoon and take a taste, then adjust the seasonings to your liking. I happened to need more salt . . .
. . . and also more pepper.
Also, if you are a blue cheese hater (I know who you are . . . and have forgiven you. I think.) you can totally skip adding the blue cheese and just add some more crème fraîche or something. I happen to be a blue cheese lover, and I added even MORE! I was in the mood to totally rock my own palate.
And here we have the sauce, in all its perfection. And richness.
Garnish with parsley, cilantro, basil, or whatever herb floats your boat.
Click here for printer-friendly version: Rich and Creamy Tomato Bacon Pasta
View Comments (20)
Oh my. That's exactly the type of sauces I love but can only eat alone when my guy's out of town. I can kill myself but not him. A pound of bacon, ha! I love your decadence. Rock on!
Thanks Deirdre! I love a little decadence as well . . . but I've been eating a lot of veggies lately, and I'm sure that somehow acts as a balancer.
wow the sauce really looks stunning! It's really rich and perfect. I can't wait to try this.
Thanks for sharing!
As good as I know this would taste, I think I feel my arteries clogging just looking at the recipe.
Heh heh, me too . . .
Wow, my mister would love this! I don't make rich dishes like this on a regular basis, but i DO make them once in a while...and I am on board with your tip of serving the sauce and pasta separately. I started doing this a while back, whenever I serve a rich sauce with a pasta, and it works great! thanks for sharing...
love,
cathy b. @ brightbakes
This looks fantastic. Now that I'm no longer vegan, yeah, this is happening after I cure my next batch of bacon.
Whoa! You cure your own bacon!?!? Pray tell how that is accomplished . . .
Oh I've yet to get started but will likely work on it in the next couple of weeks.
Here's how: http://ruhlman.com/2010/10/home-cured-bacon-2.html
Blue cheese hater--guilty! But just like I love pumpkin in everything but don't enjoy it by itself, I'm sure I'd love it in this gloriously fattening recipe. I need to come live with you for a month to learn how to eat things like this while maintaining a whippet-thin physique!
Oh man . . . I owe my thanks to my metabolism, not necessarily my hard work, though I'm definitely trying to exercise more regularly. If my metabolism ever slows down, I may have to make some adjustments. =)
fabulous! Great pictures too
oh yum. i think i'd love this so much. but not the bleu cheese... i just can't do it. i love the dented tomato sauce can! ha!
let me start by applauding your monday workout... I just read the post- I am impressed!
second, CREME FRAICHE AND BACON... My dream come true! this looks rich and amazing. I could eat the sauce by itself!
This looks amazing. I need some tips on taking pictures of food! Here's the verse:
2 Timothy 3:16-17
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Also--forgot to add--I'm pretty new to food photography, but I found these tips really helpful: http://thepioneerwoman.com/photography/2009/07/taking-photos-of-food-8-tips/