BLT Pasta: A Delicious Twist on a Classic Dish!”
This mouthwatering pasta meal is ideal for entertaining a large number of guests and captures all of the tastes of a traditional bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich.
From the first of June until the end of September, I could have a BLT every single day. The combination of crispy and salty bacon, juicy tomatoes, and crisp lettuce is about as close to the ideal as it is possible to go in terms of a meal pairing.
When you are preparing food for a large group of people, such as a gathering of friends or a large family, creating individual sandwiches may be a time-consuming and difficult task. After you have distributed all of the sandwiches, the first ones will be ruined from the tomato liquid they were sitting in.
I solved my difficulty by combining the elements of a BLT with spaghetti. The resulting dish was delicious! This robust summer lunch contains all the ingredients of a traditionalBLT Pasta: A Delicious Twist on a Classic Dish!” bacon, lettuce, and tomato. The spaghetti is combined with crispy bacon and savory tomatoes (in addition to some fresh mozzarella for a hint of creamy sweetness), and a tangle of arugula on top gives the lettuce component while also giving the whole meal a bright and peppery boost.
Because pasta begs for cheese (and because I like to include it in my BLTs), I also add some delicate, milky mozzarella bits to the mixture. This is done because the pasta screams out for cheese.
This recipe combines all of the tastes of a BLT and puts them into a meal that can be utilized to serve a crowd. It is ideal for a backyard hangout with friends on the weekend or a supper that is suitable for families.
How to Give Flavor to Tomatoes That Don’t Have Any
This meal, which is similar to the BLT Pasta: A Delicious Twist on a Classic Dish!” sandwich, is at its most delicious in the summer, when tomatoes sold in supermarkets and farmer’s markets are ripe, juicy, and full of complex flavor.
For this dish, I use grape tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes, which are quite similar but are round). Cherry tomatoes are also an option. Because of their high density and ability to maintain their shape when combined with pasta, these flavor bombs are my go-to choice for this recipe rather than bigger variety of tomatoes, such as beefsteak tomatoes or heritage varieties. (They are also less likely to be mealy and more likely to have a taste that is a combination of sweet and sour.)
If you live in the right region, you may be able to harvest delicious tomatoes from June all the way through September. However, reaching full ripeness relies on having a lot of hot days, and a cold snap or an excessive amount of rain can be detrimental to the crop.
Even at the height of summer, there is no foolproof way to ensure that each and every pint of cherry tomatoes you purchase will be bursting with intense flavor. Because of this, before I make this pasta, I always make sure to season my tomatoes with salt and pepper, and if they are still quite tasteless, I use a little bit of a shortcut and add a little bit of sugar.
The tomatoes’ tastes may be brought out by making them somewhat sweeter by adding a very little amount of sugar (no more than a quarter of a teaspoon), which creates a contrast with the natural acids found in the fruit. The end product imparts the flavor of tomatoes plucked directly from the plant and elevates the overall caliber of the meal.
A Hidden Use for Sun-Dried Tomatoes as an Ingredient
Sun-dried tomatoes may be something that most chefs associate with the cuisine of the 1990s, but they are really a very versatile ingredient that can be used to provide flavor to a wide variety of meals.
In this step, I chop them into very little pieces, which ultimately cause them to practically vanish into the mixture of grape tomatoes and bacon. Even though you may not even be aware that you are eating them, their flavor contributes contrast that makes the cherry tomatoes seem more ripe and the bacon feel like it has more flavor.
Sun-dried tomatoes are a delicious addition to the traditional BLT sandwich. Simply mashing a handful and spreading them over your bread will provide an immediate boost to the bread’s taste.
How to Determine Which Kind of Pasta to Buy
This recipe may be prepared with almost any kind of pasta you prefer; however, it is recommended that you use a shorter kind of pasta, particularly one with deep curves built into the form, such as little shells or chiocciole (little curved tubes known for their likeness to snail shells). Eating this dish becomes much simpler when the pasta is cut into shorter lengths.
The chunks of tomatoes, bits of bacon, and pieces of cheese that are used to flavor this pasta will not adhere to the pasta itself in the same way that they would in spaghetti topped with a thick pesto or tomato sauce. Instead, these little bits will be hidden among the curves of the pasta, which will make it much simpler to obtain a lot of taste in each mouthful.
Alternate Ingredients in Place of the BLT Pasta: A Delicious Twist on a Classic Dish!” Pasta
This dish is quite adaptable, since you are free to substitute the veggies, pasta, and cheeses specified in the recipe with those of your choosing. Here are some suggestions for switching things up:
Experiment with your pasta: Any short or medium pasta will work nicely here, including penne, rigatoni, or even the new frilly types, like radiatore, that have begun showing up in stores lately. Play around with your pasta.
Change up your tomatoes: If you have very delicious tomatoes of any sort, you may use them in this meal by chopping them into little pieces and then substituting them for the tomatoes that are called for in the recipe. Be aware that when you mix them with the other ingredients, they will break apart and the fluids will seep into the pasta from the other components.
If you want to create this meal for a special occasion, you may use pancetta or prosciutto for the bacon and cook small slices of either of those meats, then scatter them on top of the dish along with the arugula. (You only need to make sure the meat has a sufficient amount of fat so that it can be rendered for the dressing!)
Upgrade your cheese: While I wouldn’t use burrata in a BLT (imagine the mess! ), a ball of that rich, cream-filled cheese works well in this pasta dish. I recommend giving it a try. Instead of sticking in clumps as the mozzarella would, it will break apart and soak into the rest of the ingredients. This is in contrast to how the mozzarella will behave.
Choose your vegetables wisely: Can’t seem to locate any arugula? Instead of using spinach, try using some extremely soft pea greens for a taste that is reminiscent of summer, or grab some watercress for a peppery bite (leave off the stems that are more substantial).
There is also the possibility of using baby spinach. When working with bigger greens, like spinach, be sure to cut them into very thin strips. Additionally, when working with any greens that have a particularly robust taste (not just the spinach, but also the cress), begin with around half the quantity that is asked for, then add a little bit at a time, since the flavor may become too dominant for the meal. (It’s possible that you’ll also need to make some adjustments to the quantity of dressing you use.)
use some herbs: If you want to give the arugula salad a more robust taste, use three to four leaves of fresh basil or a small handful of Italian parsley in the recipe. They should be sliced into very thin strips, and then the greens and the strips should be tossed together with the dressing.
Detailed instructions for storing
After you have combined the spaghetti and the arugula, you will want to consume this meal as soon as possible in order to prevent the greens from becoming limp. You may preserve the meal in its individual components if you find that you have an abundance of any one component of the dish but have not yet combined them all.
The pasta, the arugula, and the dressing for the arugula should each be stored in their own separate containers in the refrigerator for up to four days.
Before serving, let the pasta mixture to warm up to room temperature. This will allow the fat that is on the noodles to become more malleable and will prevent the tomatoes from becoming chilly. (You may also cook the spaghetti in the microwave; however, this would substantially alter the consistency of the tomatoes.)
Verify that the arugula is fresh and throw away any leaves that are slimy or have turned yellow. Prepare the arugula that was left over, and then stir it into the spaghetti just before serving.
BLT Pasta: A Delicious Twist on a Classic Dish!”
- PREP TIME 15 minutes
30 MINUTES FOR THE COOKING TIME
TOTAL TIME 45 Minutes
SERVINGS 6 servings
Ingredients
- 1 pint grape tomatoes, sliced into quarters
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided, plus more to taste
12 milligram of freshly ground black pepper, divided, with more pepper to taste
1/8 of a teaspoon of granulated sugar, if desired.
3/4 of a cup of sun-dried tomatoes, cut very finely
1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced into bite sized pieces
1 kilogram of bacon
1 pound of chiocciole pasta, often known as little shells
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Arugula, baby, four and a half cups
Method
Put the water for the pasta on to boil and prepare a dish by lining it with paper towel:
Start the cooking process by bringing a big pot of salted water to a boil. Paper towels are used to line a plate, which is then stored away for later use.
To season the tomatoes, you could:
Put the tomatoes in a bowl of a medium size and season them with a half teaspoon of salt and a quarter teaspoon of pepper. Mix well by tossing. Test the sweetness of the tomatoes, and if you feel like they need more sugar, sprinkle on just a little bit before you toss them again.
Combine the cheese with the sun-dried tomatoes:
Add the mozzarella and sun-dried tomatoes to the bowl that already contains the tomato quarters and mix well.
Prepare the bacon in separate batches:
Be careful not to overcrowd the pan as you cook the bacon in a big skillet over medium-high heat; it should be added in a single layer.
Cooking all of the bacon successfully requires working in batches. Cook for a total of 5–8 minutes, while turning once or twice, until the coating is crispy. Put the cooked bacon on a dish lined with paper towels. Remove the plate from the heat.
Keep three tablespoons of the rendered bacon grease aside. It should be poured into a small dish that can withstand heat. In a subsequent step, you are going to use it to season the spaghetti and the salad dressing.
Prepare the bacon in separate batches:
Be careful not to overcrowd the pan as you cook the bacon in a big skillet over medium-high heat; it should be added in a single layer.
Cooking all of the bacon successfully requires working in batches. Cook for a total of 5–8 minutes, while turning once or twice, until the coating is crispy. Put the cooked bacon on a dish lined with paper towels. Remove the plate from the heat.
Keep three tablespoons of the rendered bacon grease aside. It should be poured into a small dish that can withstand heat. In a subsequent step, you are going to use it to season the spaghetti and the salad dressing.
To prepare the pasta:
Cook the pasta in water until it reaches the “al dente” stage, as specified on the box.
When the pasta is finished cooking, transfer it to a colander to be drained. Move it to a big basin designed for mixing. Pour in three teaspoons of olive oil and two tablespoons of the bacon grease that was previously saved.
Add the remaining half of a teaspoon of salt and the last quarter of a teaspoon of pepper before serving. Toss thoroughly. After adding the tomato-bacon mixture and stirring it together, taste the pasta and, if required, season it with more salt and pepper.
Arugula should be dressed after the salad dressing has been prepared:
Combine the lemon juice, the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and the remaining 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat that has been retained in a small container that has a cover. To taste, season with salt and pepper and give the shaker a good shake. Try it out, then make any required adjustments to the seasonings.
Place the arugula in a bowl of medium size, then add the dressing and toss to combine.
Serve:
The spaghetti should be distributed evenly among the six dishes, and then prepared greens should be piled on top of each portion.
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