Whenever I’m in a mood for a light, cream based pasta, I whip up this rigatoni dish. You get the salty, savory flavors from uncured bacon and grated parmesan cheese and sweetness from onions and fresh peas. I first made this for a friend when I visited her in east coast and although her favorite pasta was fettuccini alfredo at the time, this dish quickly became her absolute favorite!
Simple Pasta Full of Flavors
This pasta is easy and simple to make because you only need seven ingredients. It’s surprisingly light, but not light on flavors! When you have onions, bacon and cheese in a dish you are guaranteed to have full flavor deliciousness. It’s great to make any time of year, but the pop of green and freshness from peas and fresh dill make it especially perfect for spring.
I also have to talk about my tableware of course. Pasta bowl and plates seen here are from my Burleigh collection. I have talked about Burleigh Pottery many times before but one of the things I love about their tableware is that you can mix and match any of their patterns or colors and it always look beautiful! For this post, I decided on Asiatic Pheasants Blue and Pink Felicity. Pink Felicity has been retired, but their classic Asiatic Pheasants Blue can be purchased online.
Tips for Perfect Results!
Here are some tips to ensure you get a bowl of perfect, delicious Rigatoni:
- Bacon – Leave the fat on the bacon. Once the bacon pieces are cooked, you’ll have enough fat to sauté the onions. You won’t have to add additional oil or butter and bacon fat adds nice flavor to the sauce! Also you want nice, tender bits of bacon for this dish so, don’t fry them to a crisp!
- Peas – You can use either fresh or frozen peas but the most important thing is not to overcook them; otherwise you’ll end up with mushy peas.
- Grated Parmesan – Cheese will thicken the pasta sauce and cheesy sauce will cling to the ridges of rigatoni. Yum!
- Fresh Dill as Garnish – This is optional but dill adds refreshing flavor without overwhelming the delicate, creamy and savory flavors of the pasta sauce!
Serve it as a Main Dish or as a Side
Pasta is so versatile and can be a main dish or a side dish to an entrée. You can serve this pasta with a salad or plate of veggies which I usually do. It’ll also be a great side dish to meat or seafood entrees. For serving ideas, see my other recipes:
- Tangy-Carrot Tuna Salad
- Cumin Roasted Veggies with Yogurt Curry Sauce
- Slow-Cooked Wine Braised Beef Stew
For other pasta ideas, see my other pasta recipes below:
Rigatoni with Onions, Bacon and Peas
Ingredients
- 2 cups rigatoni ( I used De Cecco's No. 24)
- ½ small onion, chopped
- 3-4 slices bacon chopped in ½" pieces ( I used uncured, applewood bacon)
- ⅔ cup milk or half and half
- 3 tbsp grated parmesian reggiano
- ½ cup fresh or frozen peas
Garnish
- 2-3 sprigs fresh dill
- grated parmesan reggiano
Instructions
- Bring small sauce pan with water to a boil. Add some salt and peas to the pan and boil for 2-3 minutes. Drain the peas and set it aside to cool.
- Bring medium pot with water to a boil and cook rigatoni according to instructions on the box. Once cooked, drain the pasta and set it aside to cool.
- Heat large skillet over medium heat and cook bacon thoroughly, but do not fry them to a crisp. When done, transfer them onto a plate.
- Use the same skillet with bacon grease to sauté onions until onions are tender and translucent. Turn the heat to low and stir in cooked bacon, milk or half and half, grated parmesan cheese and combine with sautéed onions.
- Simmer the sauce for 1-2 minutes until sauce has thickened, then stir in rigatoni and peas to the skillet until well combined with the sauce. Do not overcook pasta and peas.
- Transfer pasta to a bowl, add fresh dill and grated parmesan cheese as garnish and serve immediately.
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