Pea and bacon pasta recipe

This deliciously easy pea and bacon pasta dish is a great way to use up frozen peas - and it only takes minutes to prepare.

This is one of our quickest and simplest pasta dishes. The bacon cooks whilst the pasta is boiling in a big pan of water, you simply chuck the peas in with the pasta for the last couple of minutes of cooking time, and then it's just a case of stirring everything together so the crème fraîche melts into a creamy sauce over everything. Absolute perfection and quicker than ordering a takeaway. This speedy supper is also really cheap to make - with only four ingredients (plus cooking oil). In fact it's one of the stars of our brilliant cheap family meals collection. 

Ingredients

• 350g (12oz) pasta shapes
• 175g (6oz) frozen peas
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 225g (8oz) smoked bacon, cut into small pieces
• 4 tbsp half-fat crème fraîche

Method

1. Cook the pasta shapes in a large pan of boiling salted water for as long as it says on the packet, adding the frozen peas for the last 2-3 mins.
2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large, deep frying pan and fry the smoked bacon pieces until browned. Drain the pasta and peas and add to the pan with the crème fraîche.
3. Heat through gently, stirring all the time, until the crème fraîche melts and coats the pasta. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve immediately.

Top tip for making pea and bacon pasta

Add a couple of spoonfuls of pesto sauce with the crème fraîche for a richer flavour.