Pasta With Bacon And Broccoli

• 1 lb. orecchiette
• 3 cloves garlic (more or less, to taste)
• 3 strips thick-sliced smoked bacon
• 1/2 cup fat-free half and half
• 1 lb. broccoli, trimmed and flowerettes cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 Tbsp. fresh sage chiffonade
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated

1. In pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente; add the broccoli flowerettes to the cooking pasta three minutes before the pasta is done.
2. While the pasta and broccoli are cooking, trim bacon of extra fat; slice horizontally in 1/4" widths. Saute bacon in medium pan over medium-low heat. When done, transfer with slotted spoon to paper toweling to drain. Reserve 2 tsp. rendered bacon grease in the pan. Peel garlic; remove central core. Roughly chop or smash under the blade of a chef's knife. Saute in bacon grease for two minutes; add fat-free half and half. Simmer until thickened, slightly, about three to five minutes.
3. Drain pasta and broccoli and return to the same pot. Add garlic-cream mixture, sage chiffonade, salt, pepper and 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano. Stir mixture gently until thickened and beginning to be absorbed by pasta. Continue to stir and add Parmigiano, to taste.

orecchiette, garlic, bacon, broccoli, fresh sage chiffonade

Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/pasta-with-bacon-and-broccoli-1200412 (may not work)