Weeknight
Pea, bacon and sun-dried tomato penne
An easy weeknight delight: penne tossed in a silky white wine and cream sauce with crisp streaky bacon, sweet peas, sun-dried tomatoes and chopped chives.
An easy weeknight delight — a lovely throw-together supper for any night of the week, from Cass's Italian table.
Method
- 01
Add a large knob of butter to a large frying pan over medium heat, and add the onion. Fry, 10 minutes, then add the garlic and continue frying, a further 3 minutes.
- 02
Add the diced streaky bacon and fry, a further 4 minutes, before adding the white wine. Simmer until barely any wine remains, about 5 minutes.
- 03
Add the fresh cream, and simmer until the sauce has thickened slightly, about 5–10 minutes.
- 04
Add the peas, sun-dried tomatoes and chives. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
- 05
Serve warm, tossed with the penne pasta cooked according to packaging instructions.
In the glass
Waterford Estate Chardonnay — Stellenbosch
Cass’s chosen bottle. Waterford Estate lies in the Blaauwklippen Valley on the slopes of the Helderberg mountain in Stellenbosch, owned by the Ord family since the estate was registered in April 1998 and developed under founding cellar master Kevin Arnold. Chardonnay is the only white grape planted there — a single vineyard first planted in 1988, now among the oldest Chardonnay vineyards in South Africa, and the first white wine ever to earn five stars in Platter’s Wine Guide (2005 edition). It is vinified in a gently oaked style, so the grape leads: stone fruit, melon and delicate citrus blossom over a flinty, chalky minerality and a crisp saline finish. The estate itself says its Chardonnay pairs best with cream and butter-based dishes — which is exactly why it belongs in the glass next to this silky bacon-and-cream penne.
Keep cooking
