Spinach Fettuccine

This is one of my favorite meals that D makes. It is one of those dishes that makes you think your arteries are clogging, but really they aren't.
Update: Curlyq has suggested putting shrimp instead of bacon. That sounds pretty good (she tried it and said yes it was).

Spinach Fettuccine

Photo by ALB

Ingredients
1 pound uncooked fettuccine
1 tablespoon butter
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup (2 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
3/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (3 ounces) grated fresh pecorino Romano cheese (used a 3 cheese blend of Romano, asiago and parmesan)
3/4 cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
10 center-cut bacon slices, cooked and crumbled (about 1 1/4 cups)
Parsley sprigs (optional)Cook pasta according to package instructions, omitting salt and fat. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water. Cook Bacon.

Preparation
Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic; sauté 30 seconds. Add reserved pasta water and cream cheese, stirring with a whisk until smooth.
Combine broth and flour in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Add flour mixture to pan, stirring with a whisk to combine; bring to a boil. Cook 2 minutes or until mixture thickens, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; add pecorino Romano, stirring until smooth. Add half-and-half, salt, and pepper. Stir in spinach. Combine cheese mixture and pasta in a large bowl, tossing to coat. Place about 1 cup pasta mixture in each of 8 bowls; top each serving with 2 1/2 tablespoons bacon. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

Yield: 8 servings

CALORIES 365 (30% from fat); FAT 12.2g (sat 6.3g,mono 3.3g,poly 0.6g); PROTEIN 15.9g; CHOLESTEROL 34mg; CALCIUM 188mg; SODIUM 681mg; FIBER 2.3g; IRON 1.8mg; CARBOHYDRATE 46.6g

Cooking Light, AUGUST 2006