Creamy Chicken and Bacon Pasta

1. Just before you drain the pasta, scoop out a mugful of the pasta cooking water. This will be used for the sauce - the starch in the water reacts with the oil in the cream / butter and thickens the sauce.

2. Fresh grated parmesan is finer than store bought so it melts in the sauce. If you use store bought, ensure you use a finely grated one otherwise it won't melt properly so the sauce won't be silky smooth (flavour will still be delish though!)

3. I know it feels like a crime to throw out the bacon fat. I actually photographed and filmed this without wiping the pan and not using butter, but I really just felt the sauce tasted too bacony. Also it was brown instead of white. 🙂 So that's why I wipe the pan. You don't have to. You could skip the butter and use the bacon fat instead. But it will taste much more bacony, bordering on greasy rather than buttery creamy sauce (depending on how fatty the bacon is), and the colour will be light brown instead of white.

4. I'm providing the nutrition analysis reluctantly. I told you - this is indulgent. And worth it!!! 🙂

Nutrition is per serving. This takes into account 1 1/2 tbsp of fat that is discarded after cooking the bacon. 271 calories of the total 946 calories is attributable to the bacon. If you use ham instead of bacon (really yum!), it reduces to 790 calories per serving.