Penne and Brussels sprouts with bacon and pecorino from Dinner: Changing the Game (page 188) by Melissa Clark

Ingredients

jalapeño chiles
garlic
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Where’s the full recipe - why can I only see the ingredients?

Always check the publication for a full list of ingredients. An Eat Your Books index lists the main ingredients and does not include 'store-cupboard ingredients' (salt, pepper, oil, flour, etc.) - unless called for in significant quantity.

Notes about this recipe

diana_2fkujq on February 08, 2026

I made with spaghetti and bacon. It took awhile for my brussels sprouts to brown. While you could smell the rosemary when cooking, it didn't come through in taste.
kari500 on December 23, 2023

I’ve come down with a little cold, but needed to get something together for dinner. Happened to have everything for this except the Brussels sprouts, but did have cabbage, so used that instead (and my bacon was turkey bacon, so upped that by an ounce). Quick to put together and tasty. I will definitely make it again.
snoozermoose on December 06, 2021

I loved this. Like couldn't stop eating it straight from the pan. Meanwhile my husband thought it was just okay. Sigh...
elena1049 on April 12, 2020

This is a staple in our house - usually double to 16 oz brussels, a whole box of pasta, and about 8 cloves garlic
ellencooks on January 03, 2019

I made this but used extra sprouts and added some toasted bread crumbs and cheese to the top and put it under the broiler for a minute. This was really good. Next time I will add even more Brussels sprouts.
meduff on December 30, 2018

This is a dish where I can say “yum” out loud. There just isn’t anything bad about this dish. So many of my favorites: pasta, roasted Brussels sprouts, pancetta, a little red pepper flakes, and lemon to add some brightness. Total yum! It was so simple and easy. It took me a little longer than the 20 minutes stated but that is par for the course with me. I changed out the penne for fusilli, pancetta for bacon, no jalapeno (I can control the amount of heat with red pepper flakes. I haven’t learned that with jalapenos yet), no pecorino at the end. I did sprinkle the juice of ½ lemon over the dish when it was done. Next time I will definitely add lemon zest and some capers. Melissa Clark seems to be such a big fan of capers I’m not sure why she didn’t add them. I increased the amount of pasta to 13 ounces, the brussel sprouts to 16 ounces, and the pancetta to 4 ounces. This then served 4. Total keeper!
Astrid5555 on October 27, 2018

Delicious, perfect weeknight dinner, will make again!
ksg518 on April 09, 2018

Excellent pasta dish. I used bacon instead of pancetta but otherwise followed the recipe. Very tasty and quick enough for a weeknight. Clark says this serves 2-3; two of us ate it all.
raybun on May 26, 2017

I also made the kale version of this recipe, the family loved it. Quick & easy for a midweek supper. There's no mention of what to do with the rosemary so I chopped it finely before adding it to the bacon.
Frogcake on May 15, 2017

Really delicious. I used white wine in place of water and sprinkled asiago cheese instead of pecorino. The best thing I did was get distracted during the cooking of the sauce. The result was lovely browned shredded sprouts. Perfect supper and very quick.
Zosia on April 29, 2017

Another delicious, quick pasta dish from this book. I used 2 small bunches of kale, one of the recommended substitutes, and added some of the pasta cooking water at the end since it was a little dry.
FJT on April 07, 2017

Very tasty, quick weeknight dinner. We enjoyed it and will definitely make it again.