Smoky bacon with mint and peas

This is so incredibly quick and delicious, it will easily become one of your go-to meals for those crazy mid week nights.  I found it on Jamie's Ministry of Food website and used it for the first time when we were away on holidays recently and had limited ingredients on hand.  It has a wonderful fresh flavor and is the perfect way to get your littlies eating a lot of peas.  If your kids are anything like mine, they loooove bacon so anything mixed in with that is hard to complain about.  They now scoop up the peas with gusto and can't wait for dessert!
It was hard for me not to start with onion and garlic, but this recipe doesn't need it... the lemon and mint compliment the salty bacon so nicely, it's the simplicity of this dish that I love.  That, and the fact it literally takes 8mins to cook from start to finish.

Serves 4

Ingredients:
10 strips of smoky bacon or prosciutto
olive oil
300g frozen peas
130g freshly shaved parmesan
1 handful of mint leaves
juice of 1 lemon and a couple of shaves of zest
2 tblspn creme fraiche (or heavy/whipping cream is fine)
knob of butter
mini shell pasta, enough for 4
salt

Method:

• boil your water for the pasta, salt and add pasta when ready
• cut your bacon in thin slices, and add to hot pan with a touch of oil
• fry your bacon until it's crispy and brown, drain excess fat from the pan as you go if needed to stop it going limp.  This takes the majority of the time, about 5mins to get it nice and cripsy and full of flavour 
• add your frozen peas and stir in mint and lemon zest and juice - not too long, peas should be just tender.
• drain your pasta, keeping aside some of the pasta water
• add your cooked pasta and a little of the water - 2-3tblspns and stir
• add parmesan, butter and cream
• stir until the pasta is coated and has a lovely silky, glossy texture and you have created a little milky sauce moving around in the pan, use a little more pasta water if needed.

Serve immediately with a little extra parmesan on top and a fresh salad on the side.