So the whole point of this is that last night, I wanted to see what kind of dinner I could make with what we had in the fridge. I wanted to combine all the leftover bits from meals we had had previously and some of the staples that I always keep on hand. I came up with the following:
Spaghetti with Bacon and AsparagusEnough for 4 people
3 slices of bacon, cut into little pieces (Use more if you have it)
1 handful of asparagus
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 half of a box of spaghetti
1 1/2 cups of heavy cream (Do not use half and half - the salt will make it curdle)
1 cup of parmigiano-reggiano
1 tsp of red pepper flakes
Salt and Pepper
Here are some glamour shots of the stars of the dish.
Add bacon to hot pan.
Render the fat. When bacon is crispy, pour off excess bacon grease.
Add garlic and saute for about a minute.
Add heavy cream, scraping the browned bits from the pan. Keep pan on medium heat while cream reduces.
While the cream is reducing, blanch the asparagus in the pasta water for about a minute. Let the water return to a rolling boil and...
...add the spaghetti.
After the pasta has been cooking for about 5 minutes, add the parm and the red pepper flakes to the cream sauce. Salt and pepper after tasting.
Cook for another few minutes, add the asparagus and heat for another minute.
Drain the pasta, mix with the sauce, top with more parm and some green onions, and serve with toasted bread.
Render the fat. When bacon is crispy, pour off excess bacon grease.
Add garlic and saute for about a minute.
Add heavy cream, scraping the browned bits from the pan. Keep pan on medium heat while cream reduces.
While the cream is reducing, blanch the asparagus in the pasta water for about a minute. Let the water return to a rolling boil and...
...add the spaghetti.
After the pasta has been cooking for about 5 minutes, add the parm and the red pepper flakes to the cream sauce. Salt and pepper after tasting.
Cook for another few minutes, add the asparagus and heat for another minute.
Drain the pasta, mix with the sauce, top with more parm and some green onions, and serve with toasted bread.
looks num!
ReplyDeleteOh sweet mother of god, I have to make this! Dr. Oz said on his show that asparagus is the most nutritionally complete food on the planet. We've been eating it a LOT around here.
ReplyDeleteMorgan it's really good. Also awesome with frozen peas. I used asparagus this time cause we had some left over from our Valentine's dinner.
ReplyDeleteI made this tonight. I added some porcini mushrooms (before the garlic) and some spinach (with the asparagus). The boys (hubs and child) both ate it up. They were ticked 'cus there weren't more noodles.. LOL. Anyway, this will definitely hit regular rotation in our menu. I think I might try something similar with less bacon and serve it over rice and fish.
ReplyDeleteYum porcini mushrooms! You sound like me when it comes to adding more vegetable to whatever we eat. I'm glad everyone liked it.
ReplyDeleteI'm always amazed when I see jarred alfredo sauces because making a delious white sauce is as easy as putting cream in a pan and reducing it.
Yeah, my husband and son are not veggie fans. They're not really fruit fans either. So, I fit them in where they can. They do eat what I serve them, even when they don't like it! lol So, I do try to serve them things like this where they can mask the flavors. I should make some lasagna soon. They LOVE that stuff. I wonder if they will love it with a ton of veggies in it though?
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, check out what I found to garden in our little yard wikigarden.com. Cool, huh? I'm stoked that I will be able to have fresh veggies.
I think people don't notice veggies in lasagna. Mushrooms and spinach are easy to sneak in.
ReplyDeleteI can't get that garden link to work.
oops, it is http://www.thewikigarden.com/. I forgot the "the".
ReplyDelete