If I was told I was only getting one final meal, there’s no doubt in my mind what it would be: an enormous bowl of pasta.
There’s something incredibly comforting about a big starchy bowl of the Italian treat covered in any sauceyou might crave: whether you’re a pesto person, marinara fan, or Alfredo sauce connoisseur.
And this bacon-infused pasta recipe, brought to us by Instructables user Rachel+K, is beyond-mouthwatering. If you’re a fan of spaghetti carbonara, you know just how amazing these two things are together, and when you infuse the pasta with bacon you can end up pairing it with any variety of sauce!
The ingredients are simple, though you might need a pasta maker. The nice thing is you can buy one off Amazon for only around $25!
Gather these ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 2 eggs
- 8 oz bacon
- 1 Tbsp. bacon fat (from frying the bacon)
- 1-2 Tbsps. water
Now, just get ready to eat a delicious lunch or dinner!
First, gather all of your ingredients so you have them nearby. In the photo demonstrations, the bacon has already been crisply cooked and the fat has been set aside.
You’ll want to cook the bacon a little longer than normal so that you render as much fat as possible. Fry it long and on medium heat in a pan.
Place the bacon in a food processor and continue to pulse it until the bacon is as fine as possible. Continue to stir the bacon and pulse more.
If it still seems a little chunky, place it in a plastic bag and continue to break it up with a rolling pin.
Once you feel it is ground as fine as it can be, you can add it to the flour to make your dough.
Now it’s time to add your bacon fat to the egg, then whisk them together.
Pile up your flour/bacon mixture into a little mound, and carve out a whole large enough to place the egg mixture.
Begin to combine the two by using a fork, then continue to knead by hand — approximately 8 minutes or so.
Add water if necessary, but eventually the entire mixture should the be solid enough to form into a ball.
Let the dough rest for approximately 45 minutes.
After it’s rested, use your rolling pin until it’s approximately 3/8 of an inch. Cut it into 3 or 4 pieces.
Run the thick pieces through the pasta maker a few times, eventually making them thinner and thinner.
Keep running until you reach your desired thickness. Let them sit again for 10 minutes before cutting them.
Choose your desired pasta size and go ahead and get your noodles.
While your pasta sits, go ahead and boil your water. After it’s boiling, you can add the pasta. Keep an eye on it, as the pasta will finish quickly.
The amazing thing is that youcan even set some aside to dry for future use — though, because there’s meat in the recipe, you will want to cook them within a few days.
Once the pasta is boiled, cook it in your favorite sauce (like this garlic butter sauce, perhaps).
Bacon pasta is surprisingly versatile and can be paired with a variety of sauces and ingredients.
