How to Make Pasta with Cheese Sauce · 7:46pm Jul 12th, 2018
I like cooking. It's a fairly relaxing pastime, and it leads to another of my favorite activities; eating. Today, I'm going to share with you one of my very favorite recipes; Pasta with Bacon, Spinach, and Tomatoes in Bechamel Sauce.
Ingredients: 1 lb pasta. It can be any kind of pasta. Macaroni, spaghetti, vermicelli... I prefer tortellini, myself.
4 large handfuls of spinach. Even if you don't like spinach that much, make sure you have a lot, because once you're done, there will be very little.
8-10 oz. cherry tomatoes
5-7 slices bacon
2 Tbs. butter
2 Tbs. flour
1 1/4 c. milk, warmed in microwave
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 - 1 c shredded cheese of choice.
You will need:
1 large soup pot, double boiler, etc.
1 saucepan
1 skillet
3 wooden spoons
tongs
a cutting board
a sharp knife
a large bowl to store it all in
1. Fill the large pot with water, enough to cover all of the pasta. Put it on the stove and let it heat to boiling.
2. While you wait for it to boil, fry the bacon in the skillet. You want it to be very crisp. When it's done, let it dry out sandwiched between paper towels. Turn down the heat on the skillet, but do not take it off the burner.
3. When the water starts to boil, pour in the pasta. Let it cook 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Chop up the spinach finely and halve all of the tomatoes. Then, throw it all in the skillet you used for the bacon. Let it shrivel up in the hot grease. Once the spinach is wilted, take the skillet and pour the whole thing into the large bowl.
5. Pour the cooked pasta into the bowl.
6. Melt the butter in the saucepan. Once it's completely melted, add the flour and stir briskly until it's all a bit tan and smells slightly nutty.
7. Pour in the milk. The milk should be warm. Trust me on this, this sauce can be very finicky. Stir slowly but constantly until it's thick enough to coat the back of your spoon.
8. Add the cheese and stir it in well until it's nice and thick and cheesy. Add salt and pepper to taste, or whatever other herbs you want to use. I like garlic, sage, onion powder, and a little bit of chili powder to give it a kick. Pour the sauce into the bowl.
9. Chop the bacon finely. Or cut it with scissors. Or tear it apart with your fingers. The important thing is that the bacon is broken into little bits. Put the bacon in the bowl.
10. Stir everything in the bowl together. Boom. You got dinner. Pairs well with garlic bread or herb rolls.
Takes 1 hr, serves 6-8.
