Chef John's BLT Pasta

Chef John's BLT Pasta

from allrecipes.com
40 min
4 servings

If you can't decide whether to make a BLT sandwich or a pasta, now you can do both. The combination of bacon, lettuce, and tomato has a proven track record of deliciousness! Try this BLT pasta for yourself.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • ½ pound bacon, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons lemon zest
  • ⅔ cup creme fraiche
  • 2 cups ditalini pasta
  • 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
  • 4 cups baby arugula, coarsely chopped
  • salt and ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
  • 1 tablespoon freshly shredded Parmesan cheese, or to taste (Optional)

Directions

  1. 1

    Pour olive oil into a heavy skillet over medium heat, add bacon, and cook until almost crisp, 5 to 8 minutes. Turn off the heat. Hold a paper towel with tongs and mop up excess bacon grease with the paper towel, leave about 2 teaspoons bacon grease in the skillet.

  2. 2

    Stir minced garlic and lemon zest into bacon in the skillet and let cook in residual heat until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir creme fraiche into the bacon mixture.

  3. 3

    Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and stir in ditalini. Cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain and add pasta to the skillet. Stir pasta thoroughly into bacon and creme fraiche mixture.

  4. 4

    Return skillet to medium heat. Add tomatoes; cook and stir until slightly softened, about 1 minute. Mix in arugula, stirring until wilted, about 30 seconds, and turn off heat.

  5. 5

    Season with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Stir again and garnish with Parmesan cheese.

Chef John's BLT Pasta Recipe | Only Recipes