Creamy Lemon Bacon Orecchiette Pasta

I was watching Food Network a couple of Saturday's ago and my mouth literally started drooling watching the Pioneer Woman made her "Lemon Pasta Pronto." We went straight out that same day and bought all the stuff to make it! However, I made a mistake and bought cubed prosciutto instead of pancetta. When I made the pasta it was pretty yummy but it definitely lacked the richness from the fat of the pancetta and the sauce was a bit thick.

I decided it definitely deserved another shot, but after going to three grocery stores and being unable to find pancetta, I googled the difference between pancetta and bacon to see if I could make a substitute. It turns out that both of the meats are from pork bellies, but bacon is brined and smoked whereas pancetta is cured and NOT smoked. It did say you can blanch the bacon in boiling water to reduce the smokiness to substitute, but I actually like the smoky flavor so I decided to use it just as it was. I made a couple of other little adjustments to the recipe to give me a bit of a thinner sauce and oh my... tonight was perfection.

*Note: You could use a different kind of pasta in a pinch, but I love how the little orecchiette cups catch the bacon and peas in the sauce and I was able to find it pretty easily at walmart. Also, don't like peas? Feel free to leave them out!

Ingredients:
16oz orecchiette pasta
12oz bacon
1/2 stick butter, (1/4 cup)
1 small onion, finely chopped (I throw mine through the ninja chopper to make it almost smooth)
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves, (reserve a good pinch of the thyme for the panko) or 1/2 Tbsp dried
2 lemons, zested and juiced, (reserve a good pinch of the lemon zest for the panko)
1 cup half and half
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup kraft grated parmesan cheese
3/4 cup fresh shredded parmesan cheese
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups frozen peas
Pasta water

Topping:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup panko break crumbs
Thyme and lemon zest reserved from above

Zest and then juice both of your lemons. Set both aside. Remove thyme leaves from the woody stems. Discard stems and set leaves aside.

Cook the orecchiette pasta according to package directions. Reserve a mug of the pasta water and then drain the pasta and set aside.

To make the topping: In a frying pan, toss the olive oil with the panko bread crumbs, a pinch of the thyme leaves and a pinch of the lemon zest over medium heat until lightly browned. Remove from heat and set aside.

To make the pasta: Cut the raw bacon in to little strips and fry in a large skillet, (I use a 5-6 qt), until crispy. Drain off the excess bacon fat. Add in the butter, onion, garlic and thyme and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the lemon juice and the rest of the lemon zest and bring to a simmer. Slowly drizzle in the half and half and heavy cream. Stir in the grated and shredded parmesan, salt and pepper and stir until everything is melted together. Bring back to a simmer. Stir in the frozen peas, then add the orecchiette pasta. Add some pasta water, a few tablespoons at a time, to thin out the sauce to the desired consistency.

Sprinkle half of the panko bread crumbs over the top of the pasta and serve immediately. (Serve the other half of the bread crumbs at the table to sprinkle over the individual servings along with some shredded parmesan cheese.)

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