Bacon (or Pancetta) Vodka Pasta

Let me start by saying I am not the person who adds bacon to everything and thinks it makes it better (gasp! I know). But I did feel every vodka sauce I had ever made was missing a little something. My ongoing experiments lead me to this salty, saucy dish below! BONUS: If you want to REALLY go the extra mile, use chunks of pancetta in place of the bacon. Mmmm.

Ingredients

Serves 2

3 strips of thick cut bacon (chopped into 1/2 inch pieces) or 4oz thick pancetta

8oz or 1/2lb of shell pasta (I love how the shells cup the pasta but if you prefer something else I would recommend something short like Penne)

1 shallot (finely chopped)

3 cloves of garlic (minced)

1 tbsp of red pepper flakes (or if you are sensitive to spice do 1 tsp)

1/3 cup of tomato paste

1/3 cup of parmesan cheese (I freshly grate it but you can buy store grated too)

1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup of vodka

3 tbsp of unsalted butter

Method

1. Heat a higher walled pan or dutch oven over med-high heat and place bacon in the pan to heat up with it.

2. Fry the bacon until it is crispy, about 6 minutes (I prefer a bit of crunch but if you want it a little soft, pull it out a little sooner). Set aside on a plate with a paper towel.

3. Lower the heat to medium low to allow the bacon grease to cool down.

4. Meanwhile, boil the water with a generous amount of salt then add in pasta according to the instructions. The one I purchased from Whole Foods said 14 minutes. Remember to reserve about 1/4 - 1/2 cup of pasta water.

5. Once the grease is not as hot, add in the shallots and cook for 4 minutes. Then add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes (careful that it does not burn).

6. Mix in the tomato paste until it is well incorporated in the shallots and garlic. It should look darker so let it go about 5 minutes.

7. Stir in the red pepper flakes until distributed throughout then stir in the vodka. The alcohol will cook off over 1-2 minutes.

8. Stir in the heavy whipping cream until well incorporated. It should look like a beautiful pinky orange color.

9. By now your pasta should be done and can be added in portions into the sauce until beautifully coated. Stream in about 1/4 of pasta water to thin it out.

10. Stir in butter until it completely melted. Now stir in the bacon bits and cheese.

11. Serve immediately and top with more cheese and red pepper flakes. Enjoy!