"BLT" Pasta

By mz0926

From Cook's Country

February/March 2010
Why this recipe works:
When developing our recipe for "BLT" Pasta, we found that baby spinach and arugula worked equally instead of using lettuce. Rather than wasting time dicing whole tomatoes, we found that halved cherry tomatoes were the ideal size for this recipe. Cooking the onions in some fat reserved from cooking the bacon added smoky flavor to our “BLT" Pasta.

Ingredients

• Serves 4
• Peppery arugula pairs well with smoky bacon and sweetly acidic cherry tomatoes. If you can’t find arugula, baby spinach also works well.
• Ingredients2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 slices hearty white sandwich bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 12 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Salt and pepper
• 1 pound orecchiette (or other small pasta)
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 (5-ounce) bag baby arugula (see note)
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation

Step 1

Instructions
1. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add bread and cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to bowl and wipe out skillet.


2. Cook bacon in empty skillet over medium-high heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towel-lined plate and pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat. Cook onion in bacon fat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and ½ teaspoon pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.


3. Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt to boiling water and cook until al dente. Reserve 1½ cups cooking water. Drain pasta and return to pot. Stir in tomatoes, arugula, Parmesan, bacon, onion mixture, and 1 cup reserved pasta water (adding additional water as needed). Season with salt and pepper and top with croutons. Serve.