Mushroom and pancetta creamy pasta

Hope everyone is staying safe! As most of us have had lots of time to stay in and cook, I’ve been exploring quicker and easy to make recipes for you to use at home.As we all need to limit our movement during this time, the key to a good recipe is adaptability. Don’t feel pressured to get the exact same ingredients – simply replace, replace, replace and use what you have at home.A quick tip: For this recipe, if you’re using left over spaghetti, or your spaghetti cooks before the sauce and starts sticking together, just run some cold water through it. This will help remove the stickiness.Hope you enjoy.

WHAT YOU NEED

For 2-3 people

• 8 mushrooms
• 3 rashers of bacon chopped or 170g Pancetta / lardons
• Parmesan cheese (or any cheese you have to top off)
• 1 pack of spaghetti
• Oliver oil (or any oil you have)
• 4 cloves of garlic.
• 1 tbsp butter
• 248ml of double cream (basically one pack)
• 2 cups of Chicken stock (homemade or create by using 1 chicken stock cube and mixing with hot water)
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Parsley (optional)

STEPS

For the spaghetti

1. Place water and 1 tbsp of salt in a saucepan to boil. (TIP: Use hot water, this will make the water boil quicker)
2. Once boiling, add the spaghetti and cook for 12 minutes. (TIP: Make sure it’s not too soft, as we’ll be adding to the sauce later)

The sauce

3. Place a large frying pan on high heat, then add the bacon for 3-5 minutes. Now remove and set to the side. (TIP: Don’t allow the bacon to get too crispy, this will avoid overcooking it when it’s added back in later).
4. Now add 1tbsp of olive oil and butter, then add the onions to fry until softened. Add the garlic and cook for an extra 1-2 minutes.
5. Now add the mushrooms and cook for 5-6 minutes or till it’s a golden colour. Then season with salt and black pepper. (Optional: Add a dash of white wine to add an edge).
6. Add in the bacon.
7. Now add the chicken stock, double cream and parmesan. Let it simmer for 4-5 minutes, until it slightly thickens.
8. Stir in the drained spaghetti. Leave to cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Now add some parmesan cheese. And you’re done!