Creamy Greens Rigatoni With Lemon, Bacon and Chilli

    10m prep time
    30m total time
    Easy level
    11 ingredients

Team spring greens with some of its best culinary friends – bacon, cream, lemon and cheese – in this easy and flavour-packed pasta dish. The greens are interchangeable with spinach, kale or courgette, depending on what you have in the fridge and needs using up.

Method

Based on 2 servings, adjust as needed.

Step 1

Heat a large pan over a medium heat, tip in the bacon lardons and leave to sizzle for 5 mins until crisp and some of the fat has rendered into the pan. Add a drizzle of oil if the pan looks dry.

Step 2

Strip the stalks of the spring greens from the leaves (if not already shredded), then finely chop the stalks, roll up the leaves and cut them into ribbons. Add the stalks (if you have them), garlic and chilli to the bacon lardons in the pan and cook for 2-3 mins to soften.

Step 3

Meanwhile, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook following packet instructions. Add the leaves of the greens to the pasta 1 min before the end of the cooking time.

Step 4

Whisk the cream, egg yolks, parmesan and lemon zest with some seasoning in a jug.

Step 5

Drain the pasta and greens, reserving a mugful of the starchy water. Tip the pasta and greens into the pan with the bacon mix, then turn the heat to low and pour in the cream mixture. Add the peas, a splash of the reserved pasta water and a squeeze of lemon juice. Cook for a few minutes until the sauce thickens enough to cling to the pasta and the peas are cooked. Serve with more parmesan and chilli flakes sprinkled over, if you like.
  • Ingredients
  • Based on 2 servings
  • 150g Smoked Bacon Lardons, or pancetta 1 x Sainsbury's Smoked Air Dried Bacon Lardons, Taste the Difference 160g
  • 1tbsp Olive Oil, drizzle 1 x Sainsbury's Olive Oil 500ml
  • 1 pinch Chilli Flakes, plus extra to serve 1 x Sainsbury's Crushed Chillies 32g
  • 150g Spring Greens, stalks stripped and sliced, leaves shredded, if whole 1 x Sainsbury's Greens 500g
  • 2 Garlic Cloves, crushed 1 x Sainsbury's Garlic
  • 1 Lemon, zested and juiced 1 x Sainsbury's Lemons
  • 30g Parmesan, grated, plus extra to serve 1 x Sainsbury's Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese 200g
  • 200g Rigatoni, or any short pasta 1 x Sainsbury's Italian Rigatoni Tubes Pasta 500g
  • 100ml Double Cream 1 x Sainsbury's British Double Cream 150ml
  • 2 Egg Yolks, freeze the whites for another recipe 1 x Sainsbury's British Free Range Eggs Large x6
  • 50g peas 1 x Sainsbury's Garden Peas 910g
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