Fresh Asparagus and Bacon Pasta

By Tabatha

Ingredients

• 5-6 strips of bacon, fried crisp and crumbled (reserve drippings)
• 8 oz. bow tie pasta (could use penne or rotini also)
• 1 lb. fresh asparagus, cut in 1 inch pieces on the diagonal
• 3 Tbs. butter
• 1/2 cup onion, diced
• 1 Tbs. garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese, divided (fresh is best)
• 1/2 cup half and half cream
• 1 Tbs. parsley, chopped

Details

Servings 1
Adapted from sweetteaandcornbread.blogspot.com

Preparation

Step 1

This is a recipe that makes a great side dish or you can even serve it for lunch or a light supper. Asparagus is a vegetable that I think a lot more people would like it they gave it a chance and if they tried the fresh asparagus instead of canned. There is a world of difference. I love asparagus and I am always trying to find new ways to serve it. This is such a simple dish, here is all you need:

Fry the bacon in a skillet until crisp. Remove to a plate

Cook the pasta and the asparagus boiling salted water for about 4-5 minutes. Drain.

Place the butter in the skillet with the reserved bacon drippings and sauté the onion and garlic just until crisp tender.

Add the pasta and asparagus and toss. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add 1/2 of the Parmesan cheese and the half and half and toss until coated. Remove from heat and plate. Sprinkle the top with the bacon you have crumbled, the remaining Parmesan cheese and the parsley.

Really good! I made a few changes. I didn't bother to use the butter, I had plenty of oil from the bacon drippings. I cut back on the half and half and parmesean, and added extra pepper. I also sauted the asparagus. I thought the boiling time would make the thin asparagus I had mushy.

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