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“Cabbage and noodles sounds like an unlikely winner,” Nagi Maehashi explains in her new cookbook, RecipeTin Eats Dinner: 150 Recipes for Fast Everyday Meals, “but this dish knocks out absolutely everyone who tries it!” It must have something to do with the added bacon and Parmesan…or the fact that it’s ready to eat in 15 minutes.

“A good finishing hit of black pepper and squeeze of lemon really brings the dish to life,” she continues. “I love this sort of weekday dish that packs a heap of veggies but doesn’t skimp on flavor.”

Excerpted from RecipeTin Eats Dinner: 150 Recipes for Fast Everyday Meals by Nagi Maehashi Copyright © 2023. Used with permission of the publisher, Countryman Press. All rights reserved.

3 cups short-cut angel hair pasta (see notes)

8 ounces bacon, chopped into ½-inch pieces

1 yellow onion, halved and sliced ¼ inch thick

5 heaped tightly packed cups (14 ounces) sliced green cabbage (¼ inch thick) 

⅓ tightly packed cup (1 ounce) finely grated Parmesan, plus extra to serve

1½ teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper (or ½ tsp finely ground)

1. In a small pot, bring 3 quarts of water to a boil with 3 teaspoons salt. Add the pasta and cook per the package directions, usually about 3 minutes. Drain in a colander, then set aside.

3. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add the bacon and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the garlic and onion, and cook until the bacon is golden and the onion is translucent, about 3 minutes

4. Add the cabbage and butter to the skillet. Cook until the cabbage is wilted, about 2 minutes. Add the pasta, parmesan, pepper and ¾ teaspoon salt. Toss for about 1 minute. Add the lemon juice and toss to coat.

5. Divide among bowls, then sprinkle with the extra Parmesan before serving.

Short-cut angel hair pasta (aka fideo or “broken angel hair”) is thin spaghetti broken into around 1 inch lengths. It’s fairly accessible these days in the pasta aisle, but if you can’t find it, buy normal angel hair pasta, egg vermicelli pasta or the thinnest spaghetti you can find and break it yourself.

Store-bought pre-grated Parmesan is just fine here, as long as it’s from the refrigerated section, not the dried pasta aisle (that’s not real cheese).

This dish is mildly spicy from the pepper. You can reduce or omit, to taste.

Leftovers will keep in the fridge for 4 days.

Note: The information shown is Edamam's estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice.