Chef John's BLT Pasta recipe
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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
Nutrition Info
- 502.1 caloriescarbohydrate: 48.4 gcholesterol: 75.5 mgfat: 27.6 gfiber: 3.1 gprotein: 17.3 gsaturatedFat: 12.9 gservingSize: -sodium: 516.7 mgsugar: 3.3 gtransFat: : -unsaturatedFat: : -
Directions Chef John's BLT Pasta
Directions
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Pour olive oil into a heavy skillet over medium heat, add bacon, and cook until almost crisp, 5 to 8 minutes. Turn off 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.
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 bacon mixture.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and stir in 2 cups of ditalini. Cook till tender, about 8 minutes. Drain and add pasta to the skillet. Stir pasta thoroughly into bacon and creme fraiche mixture.
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.
Season with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Stir again and garnish with Parmesan cheese.