Dan's Recipes - Tumblr Posts

Hi. This is going to seem random, but in lieu of not being able to draw recently, I've been creating in my kitchen.

I wrote up a recipe I've making lately and I wanted to share it with u guys. If it sounds tasty to you, I hope you will consider making it 👍💜

Bacon Zucchini Pasta

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 servings* of Rigatoni or Penne Pasta. You must use a starchy brand of pasta for this.

Roughly 250g or about 4 slices of bacon

1 normal zucchini

Parmigiano or Pecorino cheese, freshly grated**

Olive oil (maybe)

[*if you can't eyeball pasta servings, put the raw pasta in your bowl to estimate how much you need.

** If you have no choice but to use the pre-grated stuff, LEAVE IT OUT in step 10. It will clump and get nasty if you try to use it. Only sprinkle it on at the end. ]

Tools:

Large frypan. Must be one you can flip with and preferably is stainless steel. (The recipie will work in a non stick pan, it will just be less flavourful)

Pot to cook pasta in

Pasta strainer

Wooden or pan-safe spoon.

Method under cut:

1) Grate roughly 1/4 cup of cheese.

2) In a pot of generously salted water, cook rigatoni until al dente. Reserve roughly a cup of pasta water. (You won't need all of it)

3) Dice your bacon into small squares. Put aside.

4) Cut the zucchini in half, then half again. Now, cut the quarters into wedges that are roughly a centimetre thick. (The thicker they are, the more they'll add a 'crunchy' texture to the final dish. You can cut these thinner or into smaller pieces if you prefer less texture, they'll just cook quicker.)

5) Put the bacon in a large COLD frypan. Once the bacon is in, turn the frypan on at medium-low heat. We are aiming to extract as much fat from the bacon as we can before it fully cooks, as well as build up a tasty brown layer on the bottom of the pan. If you're using American bacon this will take less time. For everyone else, you may need to add a teaspoon of olive oil to prevent the bacon sticking to the pan.

6) Once the fat is extracted, turn the heat up to medium. Cook the bacon, stirring ocasionally and making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan as you stir.

7) Once the bacon is cooked to your preferred texture, take it out and put it in a clean bowl, leaving the fat behind in the pan.

8) Add the zucchini to the pan. Stir to coat with the bacon fat, add a few cracks of salt and pepper, then let it sit for a minute or two. You want the zucchini to get brown on at least one side.

9) After a minute or two, stir fry the zucchini until fully cooked- making sure to keep scraping the bottom of the pan with the wooden spoon.

10) THIS NEXT BIT IS VERY FAST, SO READ CAREFULLY.

Turn the heat down to low. Add the bacon back into the pan, then add in the drained pasta. Toss or shake the pan IMMEDIATELY. Quickly sprinkle in most of the cheese and a small splash of pasta water, then toss/shake the pan again until all of the Pasta is thoroughly coated and shiny. REMOVE PAN COMPLETELY FROM THE HEAT.

11) Taste the pasta for salt and adjust according to your taste. If the pasta looks dry and not shiny at this point, add another tiny splash of pasta water and toss it again.

12) Serve into two bowls, sprinkling remaining cheese on top.