All sorts of good stuff is packed into this hearty pasta with bacon and mushrooms, spinach and red onions. A great weeknight meal but guests will love it, too.
¼cupParmesan cheese, grated, plus more for serving
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Heat a large pot of salted water over high heat for pasta. Cook pasta as directed, reserving 1 cup of cooking water before draining the pasta.
Meanwhile, in a very large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon to a paper-towel lined plate. Remove all but about 1 tablespoon of grease from the pan.
Increase heat to medium-high. Add onions and season with salt and pepper; cook until onions begin to soften, about 4 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until mushrooms are browned and onions are transparent, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add wine, stir and scrape off any brown bits from bottom. Cook for 3 minutes or until wine is partially reduced.
Add spinach on top; cover and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until spinach has wilted.
Add drained pasta to the skillet with the vegetables. Add bacon. Stir, and add pasta water as needed to create a nice sauce, about ½ cup to 1 cup.
Remove pan from heat, and add parsley and Parmesan cheese. Stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper as needed.
Serve with additional cheese, if desired.
Notes
Look for short shapes such as campanelle, cellentani (pictured), elbow macaroni, gemelli, rotini, etc. If preferred, choose regular pasta (not whole wheat) or gluten-free pasta.
If you don't have a large enough skillet to accommodate the vegetables and the pasta, put the drained pasta back into the pasta pot and add the vegetable/bacon mixture to it.