CHEF JOHN'S BLT PASTA

Chef John's BLT Pasta image

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!

Provided by Chef John

Categories Meat and Poultry Recipes Pork

Time 40m

Yield 4

Number Of Ingredients 11

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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

Steps:

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.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 502.1 calories, Carbohydrate 48.4 g, Cholesterol 75.5 mg, Fat 27.6 g, Fiber 3.1 g, Protein 17.3 g, SaturatedFat 12.9 g, Sodium 516.7 mg, Sugar 3.3 g