▼

Friday, March 29, 2013

Creamy pasta with bacon, ricotta and tomato

Now, doesn't that sound good ^^?


It's extremely easy too, if you cheat with bottled tomato ricotta sauce :p.. Not that you should, of course. ^^

Creamy bacon, ricotta and tomato sauce (inspired from thekitchn)
~ serves 4
4 slices of streaky bacon, sliced/diced
1 onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
4 sundried tomatoes, sliced thin
1 bottle of tomato ricotta sauce
1 tbsp of tomato puree
a dash of extra virgin olive oil
cooked pasta, of own preference

1. Saute bacon in a non-stick pan till golden and fragrant. Add diced onions and minced garlic, and stir fry till onions turned translucent or cooked. For some zing, add finely sliced sundried tomatoes.

2. Mix in ready-made tomato ricotta sauce (add some pasta water to dilute sauce a little if preferred). Add tomato puree if you like a more tangy sauce and bring sauce to a boil. Simmer for a few minutes, add a dash (or two ^^) of evoo and remove from heat.

3. Mix pasta with the sauce till well combined, and serve immediately.

I know, I shouldn't resort to bottled sauces.. but that bottle of tomato ricotta sauce looked too enticing on the supermarket shelf! I couldn't resist! ^^||

When fatty hubby requested pasta for dinner, I knew that bottle of sauce would come in handy ^^! A cheat-cook gotta do what a cheat cook does best with the limited resources that she has! ;p

I'm really not big about pasta and all.. so I really didn't expect much of this.

But this sauce just became my favorite tomato based sauce.. ever!!! ^^ I really, really, really like this.. big time!


at

21 comments:

  1. MelMarch 30, 2013 at 8:31 AM

    Oh my, the title of this post already makes me drool especially the word bacon! I wanted to make some simple pasta yesterday for lunch but just couldnt get my butt up and instead cooked instant noodles.....duh!! Yeah, sometimes we just felt lazy to even want to cook a simple meal, right? Ricotta sauce? I think I might not have come across this before, or I might have missed this on the shelves. I only heard of tomato pasta sauce. No worries, I look for it on my next groceries trip. Have an enjoyable weekend Hui, together with Hui's hb and all the piggies!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. pudgy butterflyMarch 30, 2013 at 12:59 PM

    i hardly cook with bacon.. but it sure makes this sauce exceptional ^^ i used barilla ricotta(/tomato), but i'm quite sure there are other brands that has ricotta/tomato too ^^ i like the barilla pastas too ^^ hope you get to try this very delish ricotta sauce soon ^^

    you have a wonderful weekend with your loved ones too, mel! ^^

    ReplyDelete
  3. MelMarch 30, 2013 at 3:14 PM

    I just got back from Giant and Tesco ~ (one after another) and aah....yes I saw barilla brand, ricotta and some with mozarella. (Oooh....I will have lots of bacon, ham, sausages, cheese next month!! I think when i come back to Msia i will become fatty Mel! )

    ReplyDelete
  4. pudgy butterflyMarch 30, 2013 at 3:26 PM

    oh, no! you're going to nz! hope you'll still be posting from there. when and for how long will you be there, mel? i'm so envious ^^ wish i could go on hols too! i had a really good time in south island (which i didn't expect to ^^). i enjoyed nz more than australia (yes, the exchange rate is also slightly kinder, haha!). we had the best self-drive hol ever! ^^

    hope you have a good and safe trip.. and a wonderful time meeting up family, mel! think of us too when you're having fun ^^

    ReplyDelete
  5. MelMarch 30, 2013 at 4:46 PM

    Im leaving on 22nd...for 3 months or maybe longer...not sure yet. Yeah I know, those who have went to NZ for hol they usually have lots of good thing to say but sometimes if you have stayed for the longest time, you get bored (unless you hv family members and other relatives around). The shops there closed at 6 or 7pm. Weekend more early. Like this weekend Good Friday and Easter all shops are prohibited to open for business. So all either stay home or go to tourist place jalan jalan only lor...but u will expect very crowded and no parking.

    I will try to post and update my blog...my Sister S is also good in her baking. She loves to bake but she is a terrible lousy cook .... heehehehe.....

    ReplyDelete
  6. Chef and SommelierMarch 30, 2013 at 9:28 PM

    Hi Hui! Using instant sauce or ingredients is not considered cheating... I use that regularly too.. Oops.. I am a big CHEAT! :D

    Such pasta dishes are served on weekend when I'm too lazy to experiment or to cook something fanciful. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  7. pudgy butterflyMarch 30, 2013 at 11:06 PM

    mel.. your sis, S, sounds just like me ^^ love to bake, but a terrible cook! haha! i will look forward to your postings from nz ^^ and when you get bored there, come back fast! ^^

    hi chef.. guess the secret's out! the great chef cheats too! haha!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Lisa HoMarch 31, 2013 at 6:42 AM

    LOL...its not cheating la, its call being smart.
    Bottled sauce saves us from slogging over the stove, when we have other better things to do :)
    Have a good weekend :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. pudgy butterflyMarch 31, 2013 at 12:29 PM

    hi lisa, smart does really sound better, haha! guess the great chef and i are smart? you too, eh? smart.. i like that, haha ^^

    ReplyDelete
  10. AmyApril 1, 2013 at 8:36 AM

    It does sounds really good and I wanted some for dinner! :) I love recipe like that that is easy to prepare and scrumptious.

    ReplyDelete
  11. MelApril 1, 2013 at 11:24 AM

    Hi Hui,
    I think you are lying to me....who said you are a lousy cook?? I just came back from "pudgyfoodtales" and all the dishes look so delicious and yummy! The spicy pork cabbage looks absolutely delicious, the Hambagu steak,sun-dried tomatoes and pork belly fried rice and as I continue to scroll down, my saliva is dripping down as well and you dare to call yourself a lousy cook, huh...huh?! I think I would like to try this Squid ink pasta with anchovy sauce. Where do you get the squid ink spaghetti?

    ReplyDelete
  12. pudgy butterflyApril 1, 2013 at 3:00 PM

    thanks, amy ^^ i'm all for easy and yummy meals.. always! ^^

    ReplyDelete
  13. pudgy butterflyApril 1, 2013 at 3:25 PM

    hi mel, i can't cook without a recipe/book in hand, that's why i think i'm a lousy cook.. i have a lot of talented friends and relatives who can cook and bake just off-hand ~ i'm so envious of them!

    besides, hubby always say my "less oil, less sugar, less salt" food/dishes may not always be agreeable for all ~ maybe only close family members, haha!

    ReplyDelete
  14. LynnaApril 2, 2013 at 10:17 AM

    Haha, I don`t mind cheat cooking! That`s one of my favorite ways to cook! LOL

    ReplyDelete
  15. pudgy butterflyApril 2, 2013 at 1:01 PM

    hello, comrade-in-crime! ^^

    ReplyDelete
  16. J@FeasttotheworldApril 3, 2013 at 4:00 AM

    There's absolutely nothing wrong with using ready-bought sauces. I think that is way better than buying ready made meal or takeaway! :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. pudgy butterflyApril 3, 2013 at 4:13 PM

    hi jason, thanks for dropping by! you are right.. homecooked food beats take-out food anytime ^^

    ReplyDelete
  18. Lokness @ The Missing LoknessApril 4, 2013 at 4:37 AM

    YES! Bacon and ricotta! Sounds like a winner for my next week dinner!

    ReplyDelete
  19. pudgy butterflyApril 4, 2013 at 12:50 PM

    hello lokness ^^ bacon, ricotta and tomato sure goes well together! hope you get to try it out soon ^^ thanks for taking the time to drop a line! ^^

    ReplyDelete
  20. AmyApril 6, 2013 at 2:53 PM

    I think you've got all the ingredients I love in one single dish. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  21. pudgy butterflyApril 6, 2013 at 5:27 PM

    I'm thinking about this sauce right now! Yums! ^^

    ReplyDelete