Bacon and Mushroom Penne with Garlic Crumbs

I love pasta.  After a long day at work I crave the comforting, deliciousness of carbohydrates!  I will never be a follower of the Atkins Diet, as I really can't live without my daily dose of carbs in one form or another.

Once mastered, a basic tomato sauce can be varied in any number of ways, limited only to your imagination and paired with any shape of pasta.  I like a thick, chunky sauce with short pasta or a light, fresh, flash-in-the-pan sauce with spagghetti.

Tomato Pasta Sauce

1 small onion, diced

1/2 c bacon, chopped

1/2 c white wine

1 can chopped Italian tomatoes

1 can whole peeled Italian tomatoes

2 T tomato paste

1 c button mushrooms, sliced

1 t sugar

1 handful chopped fresh parsley

1 T olive oil
Penne pasta


Sweat onion in a heavey based pot over a low heat for 10 minutes, then increase the heat and add the bacon.  When the bacon has browned, add the wine and stir to deglaze the pan.  When the wine has reduced by half, add the two cans of tomatoes and tomato paste and simmer for around 20 minutes, by which time the sauce will have thickened and reduced.  Add mushrooms and cook for a further 10-15 minutes.  Season with sugar, salt and freshly cracked black pepper and stir through the parsley.

Garlic Crumbs

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

3 c fresh bread crumbs (approximately 6 slices of bread)
1/2 c butter
2 t fresh thyme, roughly chopped


Melt butter in non-stick fry pan and add garlic, breadcrumbs and thyme.  Stir continuously until mixture in golden and toasted.  Beware, this can burn very quickly so keep a close eye on it! 


Meanwhile, cook penne in plenty of salted boiling water until al dente.  Drain well in colander.


I like to stir a good cupfull of the sauce through the pasta to make sure that it is well coated and then serve with another generous dollop of sauce on top.  Top with toasted breadcrumbs.


I love the crunchy texture of the crumbs with the sauce.