Truffle oil, meet carbless noodles! (Shirataki noodles with bacon, mushrooms and Brussels sprouts)

I am not quite sure why this dish did not photograph well.  I had taken a few days off cooking while I was letting my social life and packing get in the way of the blog and I guess my camera skills had lapsed.  As they say, you have to use it or lose it!  Here is one of my last few posts from my interim house!

I was playing around on food and wine and stumbled across this intriguing recipe for a warm mushroom bacon vinaigrette over noodles.  It also called for truffle oil.  My sweet roomie at the time brought me back some from France and I was dying to use it in some way.  Lo and behold this recipe called for a dash, score!  I had some Brussels Sprouts laying around too so I decided to incorporate them into the dish. 

I also used one of my favorite low carb secrets, Shirataki carbless noodles instead of regular pasta.  I have told you before, they are not going to completely fool anyone, but with proper rinsing and pairing, you won't mind the swap if you are a relatively healthy eater.  Try this, even with regular pasta!  Full recipe to follow the montage.

I miss natural light when I get home from work.

The cast.  I pulled out my good olive oil for this one too!

This is what I meant by not photographing well.  I can't believe I made bacon look bad!

I made up for it with this pic of beautiful chopped produce.

Add it all to the pan and get some browning on it.

Add it all to some pasta and add cheese and oil and toss.  Delish!

Noodles with Brussels Sprouts bacon and mushrooms (adapted from Food and Wine)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound sliced bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch strips
1 large onion, finely chopped
8 ounces mushrooms,thinly sliced

1 cup halved brussels sprouts
2 tablespoons finely grated garlic
Kosher salt and pepper
1 pound spaghetti noodles of your choice
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for garnish
1/2 cup thinly sliced basil, plus basil leaves for garnish
White truffle oil, for drizzling (optional)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the bacon and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and the fat is rendered, about 8 minutes. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the Brussels sprouts and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the balsamic vinegar.

Add salt to the boiling water. Add the pasta and cook until al dente and drain.  Add the bacon-mushroom vinaigrette and the ½ cup each of grated cheese and sliced basil and toss over moderate heat until the pasta is evenly coated. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to plates and garnish with additional cheese and basil leaves. Drizzle with truffle oil if desired and serve.

I'm off to Napa tomorrow so I will see you back here on Tuesday (maybe) with a recipe or a recap.  Have a great weekend and check out my snaps and instagrams from the trip.  My user name for both is missyquiggs

Happy Cooking!

Missy