5 Star 30 Min Meal

This is something you can just whip up without having to make that annoying trip to the grocery store. The ingredients are simple and readily accessible. You know when you look at your full pantry/fridge, yet there’s still nothing to eat? Well, here’s something deliciously impressive you can make from that nothing.

Noods

You can use any type of pasta really. Fettuccini will give you a much heavier feel because it is thicker. In a rich dish like this, I prefer thinner noodles. I’ve used jumbo shells before to make a gourmet mac n cheese. It was bomb. I made a similar sauce adding cheddar and cutting the garlic. I love experimenting, and you should too! Whatever pasta you decide to use, just don’t forget to salt the water. You know better. 

Bae-con

Yes, I love bacon. Is bacon necessary in this dish? Absolutely not. The pasta is freaking amazing without it. But bacon brings a completely different element here. That salty, smokey, and crispy goodness perfectly balances out this rich, creamy pasta. Not all bacon are made the same though. High quality bacon can take your dish to the next level. Spend some time to check out all your bacon options at the grocery store. I loooooove a smokey bacon. Definitely thick cut. If you don’t have the extra 5 mins to bake it, just throw that sh*t on a pan.

KALE TIP
Sauce + Creaminess

Throw out that canned sauce baby, I’m going to teach you how to make your own sauce. YES. From freaking scratch! It’s 10x better and so easy you won’t ever go back. Achieving the perfect sauce is all in the timing (and once you get it, you’ll never forget). We all have our own preference on how we like our sauce. Don’t get me wrong, I love a creamy pasta. But too creamy and it’s a hard-to-swallow mouthful. Too runny and you have a mini soup with noodles. I’m here to show you how easy it is to get your perfect sauce (you can trust me, I’ve tested this recipe like 10 times).

After you have added the pasta to the sauce, it should be relatively runny (photo labeled down below). If you lift the pasta and the sauce slips right off, it is too runny. Keep it on medium high to medium heat and stir and occasionally lift the noodles to thicken the sauce. The trick is low and slow. Make sure the heat isn’t too high, because when you take the pasta off the heat, it will still continue to thicken. Right when I feel like my desired creaminess level is near, I immediately take it off the heat (for me it’s usually 3-5 minutes). Trust me, it might not look right as first, but as it cools, it will thicken. If you happen over thicken the sauce, just add a little milk or heavy cream and stir.

Your pasta journey has only just begun. Just about all of my pasta dishes stem from this recipe one way or another, and you can still make a bomb pasta dish with just half the ingredients listed above. Get creative with it! Add mushrooms? Asparagus? A different cheese? Make it super spicy! Maybe add grilled chicken or shrimp. Sometimes a plain lemon-butter garlic pasta realllly hits. If you need help, I’m here for you! Just get cookin’ baby.


︎ Turkey bacon is a great alternative if you don’t do pork. It is on the drier side, and it isn’t as salty; so keep that in mind when cooking it.

INGREDIENTS

KALE KOIN: 6

Yields 2 or 3 large servings

8  oz spaghetti

8  strips good bacon

4  cloves garlic finely minced

4  tbsp unsalted butter 


1 1/2 cup whole milk 

3/4  cup heavy cream 

3/4  cup parm cheese 

3/4  tsp garlic salt 

fresh cracked pepper 

-Opt but highly recc: egg yolk

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 450F. In a large pot, boil water and cook the pasta.

2. While the pasta is boiling, bake bacon for 6 minutes. Flip and lightly broil on 500F for 5-8 minutes until desired thickness. Broiling the bacon at the end gives it that extra crispiness (if you haven't noticed I love crispy shit). Be careful not to burn the bacon. I bake too much to know every oven is different! 

3. Drain the pasta and lightly rinse. Bring the pot back to medium high heat. Add melted butter. Add minced garlic and sauté until aromatic and garlic is lightly brown. Do not burn. Turn heat down to medium low.

4. Add milk, heavy cream, cheese, garlic salt, and freshly cracked pepper. Stir until the sauce is homogeneous. 

5. Add pasta back into sauce. Medium high heat to desired thickness. *Tips on getting the perfect sauce above under Sauce + Creaminess*

6. Remove from heat and serve immediately. I highly recommend adding an egg yolk

7. Add chopped bacon and finish with more parm/cracked pepper. Season to taste. 

*Sauce + creaminess photo from above instructions!

Enjoy! Tag me and send me your pics when you make this! Seriously, that shit makes me so happy.

Make this recipe and earn 6 Kale Koins to redeem in our Kiosk :)

 
xx,
kale