Friday Feast | Mushroom and Pancetta Pasta

Welcome back to Friday Feast in Mary's Tavern! The week has been a long one (mostly with errands and nurse visits), yet I always have time once a week to make pasta for dinner. It's definitely a staple in the Morgan's cottage. If I haven't shared this before, I'm long overdue. My knight has Italian heritage within his DNA. He could live on salami and pasta. Even after forty-one years together, it remains his favorite.

This week's recipe can be tweaked to add other ingredients as well. I've also been known to sneak in a couple handfuls of baby spinach, swap out pancetta for bacon, and use Rigatoni instead of Orecchiette pasta. It's all what I have in the pantry, or what we're craving. Since I didn't have pancetta, I substituted bacon for this week's meal. And we do love our bacon.

Sláinte mhath!

Mushroom and Pancetta Pasta

Ingredients

8 oz. of chopped pancetta***

1-lb of mushrooms (I prefer cremini)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 shallot, minced

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground pepper

½ cup heavy cream

½ cup chicken broth

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

12 oz. Orecchiette pasta (or your favorite)

***I often switch out the pancetta for bacon. In this photo I used 6 slices of bacon, chopped.

Directions

In a large skillet cook pancetta (or bacon) over medium heat until brown. Transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel. Leave drippings in pan.

Add mushrooms, garlic, shallot, salt, and pepper to pan. Cook 10 minutes until mushrooms are browned, stirring occasionally.

Cook pasta according to directions.

Add cream and broth to pan with mushroom mixture. Cook 2 minutes until slightly thickened.

Add pancetta or bacon.

Stir in cooked pasta, vinegar, and chives. Heat through and serve with grated Parmesan cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.