Pasta with Bacon, Peas and Cream and Banana, Cherry and White Chocolate Cupcakes

The trouble with being a two-year-old who still doesn’t talk much is that your older sister takes liberties when translating for you. When I asked my little boy what he wanted for dinner for his birthday last week, my daughter piped up and proclaimed that he wanted “that pasta with the peas and white sauce” — what is, in fact, one of her favorite dinners. But since I knew he loves it too, I went along with it. This comes from the “Kiddiefeast” chapter in Nigella Lawson’s Feast cookbook, and while it’s a winner with kids, grown-ups love it too (bacon and cream — what’s not to love?). It’s certainly not a dish for every day, what with all that cream, but it’s one of my favorite comfort food recipes, and if I have some leftover ham, I almost always wind up making this and using the ham instead of bacon.

Keeping with the kiddie theme, I’ve hit on the perfect play date treat with these banana, cherry and white chocolate cupcakes. Unusually for a cupcake these days, they’re not smothered with any frosting, so they’re not messy to eat and don’t make for sticky fingers. Plus they don’t have too much sugar in them, relying on the bananas for sweetness instead, and I always feel like any treat with fruit keeps it on the right side of indulgence. Friends, you’ve had fair warning now — next time you invite me and my kids over, I’ll be bringing a batch of these.

Pasta with Bacon, Peas and Cream
adapted from Feast: Food to Celebrate Life by Nigella Lawson

Serves 4

In her book The Dinner Lady, Jeanette Orrey makes a version of this where instead of the cream and Parmesan, you could add 10 oz (280 g) grated cheddar cheese and 1/3 cup (80 ml) milk to the drained pasta at the end, stirring until the cheese has melted.

14 oz (400 g) farfalle (bow ties) or other short pasta
1 1/2 cups (200 g) frozen peas
1/2 lb (225 g) bacon, diced (or use leftover diced ham)
1 1/4 cups (300 ml) heavy cream
1/2 cup (50 g) freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra to serve
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions in plenty of boiling salted water. After 5 minutes, add the peas to the pasta to cook them together in the one pot.

Meanwhile, fry the bacon in a separate pan until crispy. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Set aside.

When the pasta is cooked, drain along with the peas. Put the pot back on the heat with the bacon, cream and Parmesan. Stir well and warm it through. Add the drained pasta and peas back to the pan and toss everything together. Season to taste and serve with extra Parmesan grated on top.

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Banana, Cherry and White Chocolate Cupcakes
adapted from How to Be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson

Makes 12 cupcakes

1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon (125 g) unsalted butter
1 cup (200 g) sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup (60 ml) sour cream or natural yogurt
2 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/2 cups (300 g) plain flour
1/3 cup (40 g) dried cherries, chopped (you could substitute dried cranberries or even raisins)
1/4 cup (50 g) white chocolate, chopped, or use chips or buttons

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a muffin tin with paper or silicone cases.

Melt the butter in a saucepan big enough to eventually hold all the batter. Off the heat, add the sugar, vanilla and mashed bananas. Stir in the sour cream or yogurt and the eggs and beat to mix with a wooden spoon. Stir in the baking soda and baking powder, then add the flour, cherries and chocolate. Mix until everything is just blended (don’t overmix!), then divide the mixture between the 12 muffin cases. Cook for 20 minutes, until golden and springy on top and a tester comes out clean. Remove the cupcakes in their papers to a wire rack and leave till cool.

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Tagged as: 30-minute meals, Cakes, Fruit, Pasta and noodles