Too Much Bacon? Oh, Clam Up!

Yesterday was one of those cook-from-the-pantry days.  It was gray and rainy, and I didn't want to go to the grocery store.  I almost always have pasta and cans of chopped clams in my pantry, so linguine with clam sauce seemed to fill the bill.  Clams are supposed to be high in protein, iron and other minerals, and B12.  They are also low in fat.  So what's the best way to take this healthy food and make it less healthy, but very, very tasty?  Bacon!  Ten slices of bacon!  It's a lot of bacon, but too much?  I'd say, just right.

Mmmm, bacon!

Bacon and clam sauce is a special, yummy treat at our house.  Even though I usually have the ingredients for this dish on hand (except for fresh parsley in the winter), I don't make it often because of all the bacon.  We LOVE bacon, but it's not exactly health food, is it?  How cool is it, though, that a special treat dish also happens to be one I can whip up when the fridge is kind of bare?  In addition to the bacon, garlic and cayenne pepper give this dish a lot of flavor.

Luckily there was still
parsley in the garden.

This recipe, with only slight modifications, comes from a great little soft cover cookbook called All the Best Pasta Sauces by Joie Warner.  My copy is from 1987, but you can still get the book on Amazon, lots of used copies available too.  It's a wonderful little book if you like pasta.

Crispy Bacon and Clam Linguine

Slightly adapted from All the Best Pasta Sauces by Joie Warner

10 slices bacon, preferably smoked

1 tablespoon olive oil

3/4 pound linguine

1 small onion, finely chopped

3-4 large garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley (can omit if you don’t have fresh, or add a tablespoon dried parsley in last step of cooking)

1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 5-ounce cans chopped clams, drained, reserving 1/4 cup broth

Grated Parmesan cheese

Lots of clams, too, not just bacon.

Heat water for linguine.

Fry bacon in large skillet until crisp.  Remove bacon to paper-towel-lined plate.  Pour out bacon drippings, reserving 1/4 cup.  Return 1/4 cup bacon drippings to skillet.  Break bacon into bite-sized pieces and set aside.

Begin cooking linguine.

Add olive oil to bacon drippings in skillet.  Heat over medium heat and add onion and garlic.  Cook about 3 minutes, until tender.  Add fresh parsley, cayenne, and black pepper, and cook about 2 minutes.  Stir in clams and broth (add dried parsley here if using).   Cook until heated through.  

Combine with hot pasta, top with bacon pieces and toss to combine.  Top with grated cheese if desired.

Serves four.

Printable Recipe

Meatless Monday Meal

Here is a great meal for a meatless Monday.  This bean and pasta bake recipe comes from Nikki & David Goldbeck's American Wholefoods Cuisine, published in 1983.  My sister-in-law gave me this cookbook, and I have used it for years.

This dish contains protein, carbohydrates, and vegetables.  All you need to add for a complete meal is a green salad. Note: The recipe calls for three cups of cooked black beans.  I have always used dried beans, but I suppose it would work with drained canned beans.  I expect the finished product would turn out a little mushier though.

Mexican Beans and Pasta Bake

from Nikki & David Goldbeck’s American Wholefoods Cuisine

1 tablespoon oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 large clove garlic, chopped

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (adjust amount to taste)

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 28-oz. can whole tomatoes, cored and rough chopped

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried cumin

1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni (can use whole wheat)

1 1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels

3 cups cooked black beans (preferably from dried beans)

1/3 cup sliced olives

1 – 1 1/2 cups broken corn tacos or chips

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Heat oil in 2-quart pot over medium heat and sauté onion and garlic for 3 minutes to soften.   Add cayenne and chili powder and cook briefly.  Add tomatoes, oregano, and cumin, and bring to a boil.

Add pasta and corn and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes until pasta is just tender.  Stir in beans and olives.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Transfer bean mixture to a 2-quart casserole dish.  Top with broken chips and cheese.  Bake for 10-15 minutes to melt cheese and heat through.  If casserole is assembled in advance and chilled, increase baking time to 20-25 minutes.

Printable recipe

Last-Minute Home Alone Pasta

I've been on my own the last few days, and last night I had run out of leftovers, couldn't face a can of soup, let alone a trip to grocery store, and dinner was all up to me.  Here's my last-minute, what's-in-the-larder Home Alone Pasta.

Home Alone Pasta

1 3/4 cup dry rotini

2 tablespoons olive oil

2/3 cup halved grape tomatoes

1/4 cup sliced green olives

1/4 cup diced green bell pepper

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

Fresh ground pepper to taste

1 - 1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons pasta water

1/4 - 1/2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese

Heat water for rotini.  While water is heating, chop tomatoes, olives and bell pepper. 

While rotini cooks, heat oil in medium, non-sitck skillet over medium heat.  Cook tomatoes, olives, bell pepper, and seasonings until soft, about 5 minutes. 

Add tomato paste and mix well. 

When pasta is done, before draining, scoop out 2 tablespoons of the water and add to tomato mixture.  Mix well. 

Drain pasta and top with tomato mixture and shredded cheese.

Printable recipe

Easy Peasy Pesto. Presto!

My basil plant has been giving me the evil eye for a couple of weeks.  We've had a dry September, and I've only remembered to water the basil and parsley intermittently.  For the last two days, though, the skies have opened up.  We've had two days of rain and cool temperatures.  The basil plumped up, full of yummy basil aroma and flavor.  And with October right around the corner, a killing frost can't be far away.

Time to do a little basil harvesting.  And that means an easy peasy pesto dinner.

My pesto recipe is adapted from Nikki and David Goldbeck's American Wholefoods Cuisine.

Pesto

1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup slivered almonds
3 3/4 cups lightly packed basil leaves
1/4 cup parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup olive oil

Toast the almonds in a medium pan until fragrant and golden.  Put the grated cheese and toasted nuts in the bowl of a food processor; grind finely.  Add basil, parsley, salt, and garlic and puree to a thick paste.  (Add the herbs a bit at a time.)  With food processor running, gradually oil until the sauce is smooth.

So easy, so yummy!

Mmmmm

I love, love, love this dish!  We're trying to eat healthy; I don't know if this qualifies, but it sure is delicious!  And isn't it colorful and gorgeous?  I've made this several times, and always love it.  This is Giada De Lauentiis' recipe for Penne with Brown Butter, Arugula, and Pine Nuts.  I alter the recipe by using toasted slivered almonds instead of the pine nuts and half the salt.  It's so easy to make, but it has complex flavors. One bite might be more buttery, another more tangy, depending whether you get a tomato or capers in that forkful.

You can find the recipe at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/penne-with-brown-butter-arugula-and-pine-nuts-recipe/index.html.