Creamy bacon & cherry tomato pasta

Episode 15: One Pan Meals

As I write this newsletter, my partner is sitting at the dinner table polishing off his third bowl of this creamy bacon and cherry tomato pasta. He looked up between mouthfuls and said, “This is one of the best dishes you’ve made all year.” Considering how much I cook, I take that as one of the highest compliments.

The pasta is creamy, rich and just the right amount of spicy. I used pancetta from my local Italian deli, but bacon works beautifully too if that is what you have on hand. The pancetta is fried until golden and crispy, and I use all that delicious fat to cook the shallots, garlic and cherry tomatoes. Pancetta or bacon fat adds so much flavour and makes the base of the sauce extra good.

If you watched the video, you might have seen me toss a frozen block into the pan. That was my frozen minced garlic. Whenever I buy a big pack of pre-peeled garlic, I blitz it in the food processor and freeze it in ziplock bags in small flat layers. It is one of my favourite little hacks and saves me so much time during the week. And yes, this garlic girl does not always feel like chopping garlic when I am trying to get dinner on the table quickly.

I hope you love this dish as much as my partner did. Let me know if you make it x

This One Pan Meals series will be available exclusively to my paid subscribers. I aim to send 1 recipe every week (moving this series to a Thursday morning, Australian time)! Your support means so much and helps me keep creating the cozy, comforting recipes you love. Thank you for being here and for cooking along with me — it truly means the world. If a paid subscription is not your thing, you can access so many free recipes over on my website.