Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Pasta with bacon, onions, and tomato

I made this pasta dish a couple of days ago. It is adapted from a recipe I got off Epicurious.com. The original recipe has the bacon cooked in the pan with the onions, but I found it was a little greasy that way. My recipe has the bacon cooked on its own and then added to the pan of onions.
  • One 28-ounce can plum tomatoes, in tomato juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
  • 4 cups chopped onion
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
  • 500g bacon, cut in 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Drain the canned tomatoes; save all the juices. Cut each tomato in quarters lengthwise; slice the quarters in strips, 1/2 inch wide.

Put 1/2 cup water in the wide skillet, and set it over medium-high heat. Put the onions in the water and stir them around in the pan as the water starts to boil. Cook the onions, turning occasionally, for several minutes, until they're softened and the water is nearly evaporated.
Pour the olive oil over the onions, add the crushed garlic cloves and salt. Stir well to coat all the onions with oil; cook for a couple of minutes or more, until onions and garlic are sizzling.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a separate pan until just cooked. Drain any grease and mix in the bacon with the onions.

Add the pepper flakes, stir, and let everything cook for 4 or 5 minutes, until the onions and bacon are caramelized and golden—adjust the heat so nothing burns. Add all the sliced tomatoes and their juices into the skillet, and stir well. Rinse the tomato containers with a bit of "slosh" water, and stir that in too. Bring the sauce to a boil, stirring frequently, and then lower the heat to simmering. Let the sauce cook and thicken for about 20 minutes, or until it has the consistency you like for pasta.

Serve with the pasta of your choice and a generous helping of fresh grated Parmesan.