With Mascarpone Cheese and Bacon….
I’m sure you are ENJOYING SUMMER, wherever you are (not the readers from Australia). We haven’t had the sun for several days. It has been rainy and grey, and humid at the same time. Two days ago, Toronto had more than 100mm of rain in a matter of hours and it was chaotic. Parts of the city were flooded, power was knocked out to thousands of homes and businesses, my sister included, and roads were shut down including sections of the city’s subway system. As I mentioned before, it was total chaos.
I don’t know if I have ever mentioned that I love pasta. My son eats, sleeps and dreams pasta. Don’t ever ask, “what shall we have for dinner tonight?”, if you were not planning to cook pasta because he will promptly suggest pasta, and anyway it’s the only meal he has learnt to cook (he’s twelve), so he will even offer to cook it for you.
Today I want to share a pasta recipe with Mascarpone cheese, a major ingredient in Tiramisu. The resulting sauce was very tasty but I swear I am never able to taste Mascarpone cheese, on it own and anyway why is it so expensive? Or where can I get it cheaper? We really enjoyed eating this sauce, so I continue to buy the Mascarpone, and continue to whine about the price. Hope you enjoy the sauce, if you ever make it and by the way it has LOTS OF FRIED BACON IN IT!!!
Please, always remember to assemble ingredients before you start
Heat olive oil in a pan or pot over medium heat
and fry the bacon until nicely browned.
Add garlic, onions and carrots
and sauté 5 minutes till soft.
Add tomatoes, broth, bouillon, if using and freshly ground pepper and salt to taste.
Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer covered for 10 minutes until carrots are almost cooked, stirring from time to time.
Add peas and tomato puree or crushed tomatoes to the sauce, stir well to combine, bring back to the boil. Cover the pan and cook for 5-8 minutes, or until the peas are cooked and the sauce is quite thick.
Adjust seasoning.
Turn off the heat, add the Mascarpone cheese and shredded basil. Mix well, cover the pan and leave to stand for 1-2 minutes. Pour the sauce over the pasta and toss well.
The final sauce looks like this. I only cooked a little Farfalle, for blog photography.
Serve immediately, garnished with basil or parsley and topped with some Parmesan cheese.
This sauce was very good. It’s one of my favourites. My kids and whole household love it too, and their friends in school!!!
If you ever try it, I hope you will enjoy it!!!
Pasta with Tomatoes and Peas
Preparation Time: 20 minutes; Cooking Time: 45 minutes; Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 15ml (1 tablespoon) olive oil
- 6 rindless streaky bacon rashers cut into strips
- 2-3 clove garlics crushed
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped (I used red onions)
- 1 carrot diced
- 540ml (19fl oz) can diced Italian plum tomatoes (I used Gusto diced tomatoes, spicy red pepper flavour-they are not really spicy!)
- 60ml (¼ cup, 4 tablespoons) vegetable broth
- ½ cube aurora vegetable bouillon (optional)
- 400g (12oz, 3 cups) dried pasta, I used farfalle (bow-tie pasta)
- 260g (9oz, 2 cups) frozen peas
- ½ cup tomato puree or crushed tomato
- 60g (20z, 4 tablespoons) Mascarpone cheese
- A handful of shredded fresh basil leaves
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese to top
- Basil leaves to garnish
Instructions
- Heat oil in a saucepan (skillet), over medium and fry the bacon until nicely browned. Add garlic, onions and carrots and sauté 5 minutes till soft.
- Add tomatoes, broth, bouillon, if using and freshly ground pepper and salt to taste. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer covered for 10 minutes until carrots are almost cooked, stirring from time to time.
- Meanwhile cook the pasta in salted boiling water, according to package instructions, until al-dente, drain, set aside and keep warm.
- Add peas and the tomato puree or crushed tomato to the sauce, stir well to combine, bring back to the boil. Cover the pan and cook for 5-8 minutes, until the peas are cooked and the sauce is quite thick. Adjust seasoning.
- Turn off the heat, add the Mascarpone cheese and shredded basil. Mix well, cover the pan and leave to stand for 1-2 minutes. Pour the sauce over the pasta and toss well. Serve immediately, garnished with basil and topped with some Parmesan cheese.
Last Updated: 10 November 2014
myfavouritepastime.com
My Favourite Pastime 
Hi, Liz – I made a close version of this last night to take to a friend and her family. I had to change a few ingredients, as the family can only eat goat and sheep cheeses/products, but it was still fabulous. Thank you so much for the recipe. A delicious and tasty meal, perfect for a cold night. Take good care! Warmly, Shanna
Omg thanks so much for making and liking it. You’ve made my day even thought it has taken me days to go through my messages. I made the spaghetti squash, it was delicious. Enjoy the rest of the week!
Liz
Hi, Liz,
I am glad to hear that you are now a spaghetti squash convert, too. It is now in our rotation. And, guess who made some pasta and peas again yesterday? Muah. I did not have allll of your ingredients, but we have a new family favorite. I like that of the healthful food it is in one pot for the munchkins!
Be well!
Shanna
Thanks so much, I shall be cooking a few more things from your blog as soon as I reorganize my backlogged posts…best wishes!
Oh my! If there’s anything I love it’s pasta the combination looks divine I shall try it and give feedback.
Hi Papajiji,
I love pasta too. That makes the two of us. Thanks!
Liz
Sour cream has 18 ~ 20% fat, mascarpone has about 55% fat. Mascarpone will be richer and also not quite as light, but sour cream should make a very nice variation. Have you tried sour cream instead? Was there that much difference in taste?
Thank you so much for liking virtually every post on my blog. Wow that was an awesome gesture. Today I even got a notification for the most likes since I started blogging.
I haven’t tried sour cream with this recipe but I plan to give it a try. The mascarpone tasted very nice, in the sauce. I have made it many more times. I think there would be a difference in taste because sour cream does have a unique taste and mascarpone more or less adds to the creaminess of the sauce with a subtle flavour.
This looks delicious, it’s fun to see all the different twists you can take when it comes to pasta!
oh yes one can do virtually anything with pasta, and it’s easy to make. Thanks for visiting me!!!
Looks delicious! I love farfalle – it’s just so adorable 🙂
Me too. It looks so elegant sometimes I just want to sit and look at it. The shape is pretty and tastes great too!!!
I agree with mascarpone cheese being so expensive! It just makes things nice and creamy! Although, I have made a cake with mascarpone icing and you do actually enjoy the taste of it in there. This looks quite delicious 🙂
It did make the sauce very nice and very creamy. This is one of my favourite sauces. I should try a cake with mascarpone as well. Is that cake recipe in your blog? Thanks so much for visiting. Have a wonderful weekend!
The cake with the mascarpone icing is actually from the Smitten Kitchen cookbook. You make a red wine velvet cake (instead of using buttermilk, use red wine in a chocolate cake) and then top it with the icing. I haven’t posted it yet but I had a request from a friend to make it this weekend, so I’ll hopefully post it next week. And hopefully it won’t be too hot to want to bake this weekend ;).
You know what? I shall just wait for you to post it then I can try it from your site and post a picture here. Please take your time, I have a long list of recipes to try from other blogs.
I never imagined Ottawa could be hot too, when we visited, it was much colder than here. The weather is going to be cooler this week, at least. I wish you a wonderful week and thanks for being here always!!!
I have been craving pasta recently and I’m sure I’ve eaten far too much of it, but I’m gonna have to try this dish all the same 😉
I totally agree with you about mascarpone. It’s way overpriced in the UK too and tastes far to mild for its own good, but does make for a lovely creamy undertone to a dish …
Hi
I saw from your blog that you’ve been eating lots of pasta. I love this pasta sauce, and mascarpone does give it a lovely creamy taste. I loved it and have made it many more times. Thanks for being here and wish you a lovely week!
Hmmmm bacon….. I don’t think that there are many things that can’t be improved by adding bacon. Have a good weekend.
Haha the bacon did make a huge difference to this sauce. I wonder what it would taste like without the bacon? I don’t even want to imagine. Hope you had a good weekend and wish you a lovely week!!!
Your Son and I had a lot in common when I was his age — still do, for that matter. Given a choice, I’ll always opt for pasta. This one would be a very good choice, too. That mascarpone is a great choice for adding cream to the dish. You’ve reminded me that it’s time to make some. It’s been too long, I will be making this dish, without a doubt. Thanks for sharing your recipe, Liz. Have a great weekend!
HI John,
Thanks for being here twice, I really appreciate. This week has been extra busy, dropping kids in camp and picking them at odd hours etc. I’m glad you and my son have something in common. That boy simply adores pasta and I’m sure you do too. I really love this sauce. It’s one of my favourites. I visited your blog yesterday, and I think you’re busy making changes because some things looked different. My eyes are closing right now but you know your blog is one of my favourites so no matter how long it takes I shall be there. Kind regards to your family and wish you all a great a weekend!!!
It’s looks so pretty and yummy! I’ve never tried mascarpone cheese with pasta, i’ll give it a go 🙂 thanks for sharing 😉
It tastes really nice. You should give it a go. Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely day!!!
It looks so pretty! I love the serving bowl and plate, too! 😀
Thanks, Harry. It tasted really good!!
That looks lovely, perfect for a summers day. Sorry to hear about the floodings, how awful.
Oh yes the floods subsided and power is now fully back on. Thanks for stopping by and so sorry I took so long to respond to this. Hope you have a fantastic week!!!
A wonderfully tasty & pleasent special pasta dish,…MMMMMM!!! I love farfalle too! 😉 x
Me too. Thanks for being here!
Love this, my type of food!
That makes the two of us. I love it too. Thanks and have a great week!
Sounds like a must try! Gotta pin it.
Thanks for pinning it. Enjoy the rest of the week!
Thanks, you too 🙂
i had to read this in the morning. now i am hungry. raaawwwrr!
please read in the morning. Thanks for stopping by.
Looks yummy! I love pasta also!
Me too. thanks for stopping by and have a lovely week!
And with your favorite, carrots! Looks so tasty and my kids love pasta, too. I’ll definitely try this one!
Glad to know your kids love pasta too. Enjoy it, if you try it!!!