Chili Bacon Scallion Pasta

A glossy pasta without cream is possible if you understand three ingredients: rendered fat, finely grated cheese, and starchy pasta water. That's the entire physics of cacio e pepe, and it's what this dish is built on.

The fat here is bacon. Render six strips slowly in the pan so you end up with crisp bacon and a tablespoon or two of clear fat in the bottom. Don't pour any off unless there's a pond of it. That fat is the emulsifier that's going to hold everything together at the end.

Garlic and the white parts of the scallions go in next. White scallion is the aromatic base; the green parts wait until the very end so they stay fresh and bright. Chili flakes and cracked black pepper bloom briefly in the fat, which is the kind of 30-second move that pays back tenfold in aroma.

The finish is the technique to memorize. Pull the pasta a minute early, drop it into the skillet with its reserved water, then add the parmesan and olive oil and chili crisp. Toss constantly. The starch in the pasta water and the fat in the cheese find each other under agitation and form an actual emulsion, the kind of glossy, clingy sauce that looks like cream but is nothing but water and fat at war.

If it looks broken or greasy, add more pasta water. If it's too thin, keep tossing and it will tighten as it cools. Chili crisp goes in during the final toss, off the direct flame, so its crispy bits don't boil away into the sauce. Green scallions on top and a shower of extra parmesan. Nothing else required.