Recipe Background
One-Pot Creamy Kimchi Shells–they're oh so tangy and oozing with cheese! A bed of bouncy pasta shells, creamy half-and-half, and gooey parmesan cheese make up the great foundation. Salty bacon strips, sour chopped kimchi, and sweet and spicy gochujang (a Korean fermented red chili paste) make up the very animated mix-ins. Together, One-Pot Creamy Kimchi Shells become an exhilarating experience for your taste buds!
One-Pot Creamy Kimchi Shells–they're oh so tangy and oozing with cheese! A bed of bouncy pasta shells, creamy half-and-half, and gooey parmesan cheese make up the great foundation. Salty bacon strips, sour chopped kimchi, and sweet and spicy gochujang (a Korean fermented red chili paste) make up the very animated mix-ins. Together, One-Pot Creamy Kimchi Shells become an exhilarating experience for your taste buds!
Ingredients
- 3 slices bacon thick-cut and cut into 1/2-inch strips
- 1 1/2 cups kimchi drained, roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 4 cups water
- 2 cups half-and-half
- 1 (16-ounce) box small pasta shells
- 1 tablespoon gochujang optional
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 cups parmesan grated
- scallions optional, to taste, thinly sliced, for serving
- toasted sesame seeds optional, to taste, for serving
Directions
- In a large pot over medium-high heat, cook the bacon, stirring occasionally, until it is crisp and the fat has rendered, for about 7-10 minutes.
- Discard all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat from the pot. Leave the bacon in the pot.
- Add the kimchi and the garlic to the bacon. Stir to combine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Cook the kimchi mixture until the garlic is fragrant and most of the moisture has evaporated from the kimchi, about 2-4 minutes.
- Add the water, the half-and-half, the pasta, the gochujang, and the salt to the kimchi mixture.
- Bring the kimchi mixture to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is al dente, about 8-10 minutes.
- Transfer the pot away from the heat and stir the parmesan into the kimchi shells.
- Top the kimchi shells with the scallions and the toasted sesame seeds.
- Serve.
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