Pasta Romano with Bacon

By á-382

Sooo good! 'The family raved over it and said they definitely wanted me to make it again.' When you make pasta, save a little of the pasta water and add it to the sauce. The starch in the water will thicken the sauce and help it adhere better to the pasta.

Ingredients

• 5 quarts water
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 4 slices bacon
• l pound green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces & blanched or 1 1/2 pounds broccoli florets, chopped
• 2 plum tomatoes, seeded & cut into small pieces
• 2 ounces Pecorino Romano cheese (about 1 cup grated)
• 1 ounce Parmesan cheese (about 1/2 cup grated)
• 1 pound cavatappi or small spiral pasta
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 12 ounces shrimp, peeled, deveined & precooked
• 4 tablespoons butter

Preparation

Step 1

Bring water to a boil. Add salt. Add pasta & cook until almost done.

In a large skillet, dice bacon & cook until crisp. Remove the bacon & leave bacon fat. Add peppers & garlic to bacon fat & cook over medium heat for 30 seconds. Add tomatoes & either green beans or broccoli & cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Save back 1 cup pasta water & then drain pasta.

Add pasta, shrimp, cheeses, butter, bacon & pasta water. Simmer until heated through and slightly thickened.