Have leftover pasta that you don’t know what to do with? This next recipe will take care of that.

Penne pasta and brussel sprouts cooked in a lemony white wine sauce–yum. All done in a cast iron skillet with your leftover (or not) penne pasta. Of course, there’s bacon in there too, because everything is better with bacon, right?

Penne pasta is one of my favorite pastas. These little cylinder shaped pieces are firm and very filling. Their ridges hold any sauce very nicely too. The sauce in this recipe isn’t overly creamy, but rather, just the right ratio to the parmesan cheese. I think it’s perfect. Serve it for brunch, lunch, or even a light dinner.

This recipe couldn’t be any easier to throw together. A few fresh ingredients and voilà!

Charring the brussel sprouts in the cast iron skillet makes this dish extra special. A well cured, well seasoned cast iron makes for phenomenal crispy brussel sprouts. I can’t say enough about this dish…I’m getting hungry already! Let’s eat.

Here is the recipe.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 Lb. of penne pasta, cooked and drained
• 1 Lb. of brussel sprouts, halved (frozen or fresh) * if using frozen make sure they thaw in the refrigerator prior to use.
• 1 whole lemon, juiced
• 1 whole lemon rind, julienned then diced small
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of black ground pepper
• 1 tsp of garlic powder
• 1 tsp of dry thyme
• 1 sprig of rosemary, stripped then finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 shallot, finely sliced
• 4 Tbsp of olive oil
• 4 strips of bacon, cooked and chopped
• ½ cup of heavy cream
• ½ cup of white wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc)
• 1 cup of fresh parmesan cheese, grated (plus more to taste)
• Basil leaves for garnish

Note: Penne pasta takes 11 minutes to boil. Bacon takes 3 minutes to cook in the microwave. In preparation of the ingredients for this recipe, boil and drain your pasta. Cook the bacon and set on a paper towel to drain excess fat.

Directions:

1. In a large cast iron skillet over medium heat, add 3 Tbsp of olive oil, shallots, and garlic. Sauté for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
2. Turn the heat to medium high, add 1 Tbsp of olive oil, and toss in the brussel sprouts. Stir all the ingredients together to coat with the olive oil.
3. Add the salt, black ground pepper, garlic powder, dry thyme, and rosemary. Stir to combine.
4. Let the brussel sprout char and start to caramelize, but stir occasionally. About 5 minutes.
5. Now add the lemon juice, lemon rind, white wine and stir together.
6. Then incorporate the heavy cream a little at a time while stirring.
7. Add the cooked penne pasta and stir to coat the pasta evenly.
8. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese and cook for 10 minutes.
9. Plate and garnish with a few basil leaves and extra parmesan cheese to taste.