Farfalle with Bacon & Chicken Stock Reduction

Long time, no post!  Since getting back from my Glampin weekend, I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off.  I say that a lot, don’t I?  Anyway, I finally got the staircase & hallway walls and ceiling painted.  PHEW…that was a looooooooooong project.  If you ever buy an old house with wallpaper…..be prepared.  After ripping it off, I found the “sins of the past”.  If you watch CSI, then NO, it wasn’t that bad.  Each corner was cracked pretty severely with plaster missing and the Hubs had to rebuild an entire corner floor to ceiling as once the wallpaper came off….it was raining plaster.  Not good.  Anyway, it’s done and looks fabulous.  Now on to trim work.  Lots and lots and lots of trim work.  The end result is going to be phenomenal though.  So light and bright.  I can’t wait.  Bye bye GREY – Hello Sandy Beaches.  🙂

Ok, on to the recipe.  This is my go to recipe when I need a quick dinner that’s relatively healthy.  The chicken stock reduction makes this dish.  It’s so rich and tasty that you forget you didn’t add a carton of cream.  You can use this recipe as a base as well and toss in some fresh kale or spinach to “green it up” a bit. It’s very versatile and so easy to make.

Enjoy!

Farfalle with Bacon & Chicken Stock Reduction
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Ingredients
1 quart chicken stock (homemade or canned)
1 lb farfalle (bow tie pasta)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 lb thick sliced bacon, cut into small pieces
3 large garlic cloves, sliced
1 tsp lemon zest, grated
1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan
salt & pepper to taste

Instructions
1 In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken stock to a boil over high heat.  Boil for 20 minutes or until it has reduced down to 1 cup.
2 Boil the farfalle in salted water, until al dente, about 8-10 minutes
3 While the pasta is boiling, in a large skillet add the olive oil and bacon and cook until crisp but not burned, about 7 minutes.  Remove bacon with a slotted spoon to a paper towel set over a plate.  Set aside.  Remove all bacon fat except 2 tablespoons.  Add the garlic to the skillet and cook over medium heat for about 4 minutes.  Don’t let the garlic burn.  Add the drained farfalle, stock, zest and bacon to the frying pan and toss to combine.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Sprinkle parmesan cheese and serve.