Recipe Orecchiette in a soubise sauce with bacon

medtran49

Forum GOD!
Joined
3 Dec 2017
Local time
5:26 PM
Messages
7,749
Location
SE Florida
58413


It's not a traditional soubise since it uses bacon grease instead of butter, but it came out really good.

Serves 2 generously

4 slices thick cut bacon
1/2 pound scallions, spring onions or leeks
1/2 pound fennel bulb plus fronds for garnish
1/2 cup white wine
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated Parm R plus more for garnish
Salt and pepper
1/2 pound orecchiette

In a large straight sided skillet, render the bacon over medium low to medium heat. Remove bacon from pan. Pour grease out into a heat safe bowl and clean pan if needed (i.e. a lot of browning on bottom). Return grease to pan. Chop.bacon into small pieces, reserve.

Start pasta cooking per package directions. Cook until almost done. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta water.

Meanwhile core fennel bulb and thinly slice. Thinly slice scallions/spring onions/leeks separating white and light green parts from the darker green parts.

Place the fennel and white and light green scallion/spring onion/leek parts in the pan with the bacon grease, add the white wine and some salt, and cook over medium to medium low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. You don't want any browning. Add the baking soda and cook for 8 minutes, again avoiding browning. Add the darker green parts, stir and cook for 3 minutes. Add the cream and let cook for 2 minutes until it thickens slightly. Let cool for a few minutes, then place in a blender and process at high speed until everything is pureed. Rinse skillet out then return pureed mixture to pan. Add the bacon, pasta and 1/4 cup pasta water to pan and stir over medium low to medium heat until well combined, about 2 minutes. Add additional pasta water if sauce is too thick. Add the cheese, stir, and add additional pasta water if needed. Add some freshly grated black pepper, stir. Divide pasta between 2 bowls, garnish with more Parm R and fennel fronds. Serve.
 
Last edited:
I’ll be honest with you: my first impression from looking at the picture was, “this looks nice.” But, I didn’t think it was anything special. But, as I go through the recipe, I realize I really love it. There’s a lot more going on here than just pasta with onions.

I can see where you would want orecchiette or conchiglie (shells) to hold the soubise.

What does the baking soda do here? And, is baking powder appropriate as a substitute?
 
I’ll be honest with you: my first impression from looking at the picture was, “this looks nice.” But, I didn’t think it was anything special. But, as I go through the recipe, I realize I really love it. There’s a lot more going on here than just pasta with onions.

I can see where you would want orecchiette or conchiglie (shells) to hold the soubise.

What does the baking soda do here? And, is baking powder appropriate as a substitute?

It was really good, much, much better than I actually thought it would be. I made it with scallions this time, but may mix it up a bit next time just to see how the flavor changes.

The baking soda softens/tenderizes/breaks down the veges so they puree better. I was amazed at how pureed it got. It was so broken down that I didn't even have to put it through a wire strainer.
 
Great use of vegetables here. :okay:

The baking soda softens/tenderizes/breaks down the veges so they puree better. I was amazed at how pureed it got. It was so broken down that I didn't even have to put it through a wire strainer.

This I must try.
 
This I must try.

I suppose I should post the baking soda trick under the new things I learned. I've never had vegetables break down like that before. It was to the point that I think even if I had passed it through a fine mesh there would have only been a little, if any, residue. It had a smooth and silky mouth feel straight out of the blender.
 
DD9EBB30-C820-46A3-91E2-45FCE2FE328E.jpeg


Here’s my version of what you made. You may notice that the pasta looks less green than what you made. There was a reason for that. The time came to add the wine, I realize I didn’t have any white wine. So, I used red wine. It still taste great.

I wasn’t able to get the onion mixture to purée without adding some of the pasta water. But, once I did, everything smoothed out. And, same as your situation, I did not need to strain.

This really is a terrific recipe. I’m looking forward to the next time I make this…with white wine.
 
I wasn’t able to get the onion mixture to purée without adding some of the pasta water. But, once I did, everything smoothed out. And, same as your situation, I did not need to strain.

I'm so glad you liked it! Our blender has a super speed for smoothies and purees, and I used that so maybe that was the difference.
 
I just got done making this for dinner through the pureeing stage. Used a spring/new onion and 1 bunch of green onions/scallions this time.

Reason I am posting is that when I was using the smoothie/puree setting on our blender, I realized it pulses itself, spins up to high for a few seconds, then stops and repeats spinning the opposite way. I had never noticed that before because I'm usually rushing to get dinner done and don't really pay attention.
 
Well, this was still good, but not as good as the first time using all green onions/scallions. I think the spring/new onion made it a little too sweet. It's also a much lighter green and isn't as pretty. Don't think I'll try the leek version, I'll just stick with the green onions.
59890
 
Back
Top Bottom