Pasta with bacon, potatoes and Gorgonzola

Preparing the ingredients

1. Pasta with potatoes and bacon cooks quite quickly, so it is best to prepare all the ingredients in advance.

2. For this dish we use pasta called pipe rigate, often nicknamed “snails”. These are short, curved and slightly flattened tubes with a fairly large hollow that fills nicely with sauce and holds it inside.

   

3. It is better to take potatoes with yellow flesh, as they make the finished dish look better. Most often we use small potatoes with reddish skin and firm flesh. By the way, they are perfect for baking. Peel the potatoes and cut them into small cubes, about the size of the pasta. You can cover the potatoes with boiling water for 10–15 minutes, and they will be almost done. Or, more reliably, boil them until almost done, checking with the tip of a knife.

   

Making the sauce for pasta with bacon and potatoes

1. If the bacon is not too fatty, pour a scant 1 tbsp of olive oil into a frying pan and heat it. If the bacon was not sliced at the shop, slice it paper-thin — “see-through”, as a friend of mine puts it, so you can see the sky through it. By the time you start frying the bacon, the potatoes should be ready. Drain them in a colander to let the water run off. Fry the bacon slices in the pan until browned and lightly crisp. For a stronger flavor and aroma, you can add a sprig of fresh rosemary to the pan with the bacon, then discard it.

   

2. Add the boiled potato cubes to the bacon and stir. At this point, season the potatoes with ground black pepper and salt, but very carefully: bacon is often quite salty, and you may not need to add any salt. Fry the potatoes and bacon for 5–6 minutes, stirring. Don’t turn this into a pan of fried potatoes. Save that for dinner after work; here you only need a light fry.

   

Cooking the pasta

1. While the potatoes and bacon are cooking, boil the pasta. Pipe rigate usually cook in about 10 minutes; check the package for the exact time. Bring the water to a boil and salt it (7 g per liter). Cook the pasta until al dente, then drain. Add the pasta to the pan with the potatoes and bacon and stir.

   

2. Cut a piece of fresh, slightly sharp Gorgonzola into small pieces or simply crumble it with your fingers. Add the cheese to the pan with the pasta. Heat the pasta over the lowest heat, stirring. Gorgonzola melts wonderfully and blends evenly with the pasta. Gradually it becomes part of the sauce and does not even stand out in the dish.

   

3. When the pasta and sauce are ready, turn off the heat and divide everything among serving plates. If you like, sprinkle the dish with finely grated Parmesan before serving. Or, if you prefer, season with coarsely ground black pepper. Serve the pasta while it is still very hot. It doesn’t keep or reheat well, so cook just enough for one meal.