Creamy Bacon & Mushroom Cavatappi

🥘 Ingredients

• bacon
  8 oz
• butter
  2 tbsp
• button mushrooms
  1 lb
• cavatappi pasta
  12 oz
• cream cheese
  4 tbsp
• flour
  2 tbsp
• garlic herb butter
  4 tbsp
• milk
  2 unit
• olive oil
• parmesan cheese
  6 tbsp
• pepper
• salt
• scallions
  2 unit

🍳 Cookware

• medium pot
• large dry pan
• large pan

1. 

   1

   Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Wash and dry produce. Trim and slice button mushrooms into ¼-inch-thick pieces. (Skip if your mushrooms are pre-sliced!) Trim and thinly slice scallions , separating whites from greens. Heat a large dry pan over medium-high heat. Add bacon ; cook, turning occasionally and adjusting heat if browning too quickly, until crispy, 6-10 minutes. Transfer bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate. Once bacon is cool enough to handle, roughly chop. Wipe out pan.

   button mushrooms: 1 lb, scallions: 2 unit, bacon: 8 oz
2. 

   2

   Heat a large drizzle of olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms; season with salt and pepper . Cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and slightly crispy, 5-7 minutes. Turn off heat; transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate. Wash out pan. Use pan used for bacon.

   olive oil, salt, pepper
3. 

   3

   Once water is boiling, add cavatappi pasta to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, 9-11 minutes. Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water, then drain.

   cavatappi pasta: 12 oz
4. 

   4

   While pasta cooks, melt butter in pan used for mushrooms over medium-high heat. Add scallion whites and cook until just softened, 1 minute. Add flour and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, 1-2 minutes. Whisk in milk and ¼ cup reserved pasta cooking water, breaking up any flour clumps. Simmer until slightly thickened, 3-4 minutes.

   butter: 2 tbsp, flour: 2 tbsp, milk: 2 unit
5. 

   5

   Stir cream cheese into pan with sauce until melted and combined. Stir in mushrooms, drained cavatappi, and garlic herb butter . Season with salt and pepper. TIP: If needed, stir in more reserved cooking water a splash at a time until pasta is coated in a creamy sauce. Stir in bacon along with mushrooms.

   cream cheese: 4 tbsp, garlic herb butter: 4 tbsp
6. 

   6

   Divide pasta between bowls and sprinkle with parmesan cheese and scallion greens. Serve. Pork is fully cooked when internal temperature reaches 145°.

   parmesan cheese: 6 tbsp