Creamy Pasta with Napa Cabbage and Bacon

1. Gather all the ingredients. Start boiling 4 quarts (16 cups, 3.8 L) water in a large pot. When the water boils, keep it covered and on low heat until you‘re ready to cook the pasta.

To Prepare the Ingredients

1. Mince 1 onion.
2. Remove the core of ½ lb napa cabbage and cut it into pieces 1-inch (2.5-cm) square.
3. Discard the bottom of 4 button mushrooms and slice the caps.
4. Cut 4 slices applewood smoked bacon into ½-inch (1.3-cm) pieces. Grate 2 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano or Parmesan cheese and 2 oz Gruyere cheese if they are not already grated.

To Cook the Ingredients

1. In a large, oven-safe skillet (I use Le Creuset cast iron braiser), heat 4 Tbsp unsalted butter on medium heat. Add the bacon, stir to separate, and cook until crisp on the edges.
2. Add the onion and stir to coat well with the butter and rendered bacon fat. While the onion is cooking, start cooking the pasta (see the next step). Continue to sauté the onion until tender and translucent, scraping the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spatula.
3. To Cook the Pasta: The water in the pot should be boiling by now. If you kept it on low heat, bring it back to medium-high heat. Add 1½ Tbsp Kosher salt and 1 lb penne pasta, stirring to make sure the pasta doesn’t stick to each other. Tip: I usually reduce the cooking time by 1 minute if I have to continue cooking the pasta in sauce afterward. Drain if you finish cooking the pasta first, but you should be able to cook the rest of the ingredients in 10 minutes while the pasta is being cooked.
4. When the onion is tender, lower the heat. Then, add 5 Tbsp all-purpose flour (plain flour) to the skillet with the onions. Using the wooden spoon, quickly mix the flour with the rest of the ingredients, scraping the bottom of the skillet, for 2 minutes. It‘s important to cook the flour to get rid of the raw taste. Then, gradually add 2 cups whole milk, 2 Tbsp at a time, while stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan with the wooden spoon.
5. As you finish adding the milk, increase the heat to medium.
6. Add the napa cabbage and mushrooms and coat them well with the white sauce.
7. Scoop and reserve ¼ cup of cooking pasta water and add it to the white sauce. Stir to loosen it up. Now, put the lid on and cook covered on low heat for 3–5 minutes until the napa cabbage and mushrooms are tender. Make sure the lid is tight-fitting to keep the moisture from escaping, which would cause the white sauce to thicken and possibly burn.
8. By now, pasta should be done cooking. Drain well and set aside.
9. Open the lid and see if the cabbage and mushrooms are tender. Season the sauce with ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper. Make sure the sauce is not bland at this step as we will add pasta, which will dilute the flavor a bit.
10. Add the drained pasta and mix well together.
11. Sprinkle evenly on top with the cheeses and then ¼ cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs).

To Finish in the Broiler

1. Preheat the oven broiler to High (550ºF/288 ºC) for 3 minutes. Place the oven-safe skillet or baking dish with the pasta in the middle rack of the oven, about 8 inches (20 cm) away from the heating element. Broil until the top gets nicely browned, usually just several minutes, and remove from the oven. Stay in front of the oven to monitor the broiling process.

To Serve

1. Finely chop the parsley and sprinkle on top. Serve warm.

To Store

1. You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and in the freezer for a month.