shells with mushrooms and bacon

even before baby winn was born, jason and i have divided weekly dinner duty. usually we each choose two meals to make, assuming one night will either be leftovers or take out. usually jason chooses something without a real recipe, like paninis or pasta with meat sauce. this month, when browsing through my newest copy of everyday food with the baby, jason shouted we had to have this pasta dish for dinner. naturally, i suggested he cook it. and that he did.

The original recipe came from Everyday Food... I am a big fan of pastas with simple sauces, so when I saw this, I knew I had to make it.

I made a few changes to the original recipe, though. The first was that I added a shallot. Originally I read the recipe as "shallots" instead of scallions. But by that time I already had my mind set on some shallots so I added them with the bacon. The second change was that the original recipe only called for 2 slices of puny, regular bacon. This amount of the world's best form of meat for a huge pot of pasta is a joke so I pumped it up to a meaty 4 slices of thick-cut bacon. And it could have even taken more. I also doubled the amount of cheese from 1/2 cup to 1 cup, because more cheese is always better. The last change was simply the number of scallions, the original called for 1/2 cup but our store only sells them as a "small bunch" and as I had no other use for them I put in all I had, which was about a cup and a half. I don't think it was too many scallions.

shells with mushrooms and bacon
adapted from everyday food, november 2012
30 minutes, serves 4

omit the bacon and substitute vegetable stock for the chicken stock for a great vegetarian dinner!

4 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped
1 shallot, diced
1 1/2 cups chopped scallions
2 cups cleaned and sliced mushrooms
2 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 lb small pasta shells
1 cup Parmesan

1. Start with heating a pot of salted water for the pasta. Cook the pasta at the same time as the rest of the dish to al dente, drain, and leave in the pot.
2. In a skillet, heat a pan under medium heat and add the bacon. The bacon will start to cook and give some oil. Once there is enough oil (maybe 30-60 seconds), add the shallots and cook until the bacon is starting to brown.
3. Add the scallions and cook for about 5 minutes until the scallions have wilted.
4. Add the mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes, until they have released their moisture.
5. Add the peas, stock, and butter, and bring to a boil. Continue to boil until the liquid has reduced by half.
6. Add the sauce to the cooked and drained pasta. Add the Parmesan cheese and mix. Add salt and pepper to taste.