Crazy Cooking Challenge #7
Spaghetti
Oh boy, I knew I was in for a challenge when this month's crazy cooking challenge presented us with spaghetti. This has got to be one of my husband's least favorite meals. To him, spaghetti is boring. And when I found out that there were limitations on which kind of pasta we could actually use I gritted my teeth. Josh was NOT going to be excited about this month's challenge at all. Suddenly, I wasn't gearing up for the cooking challenge, I was geared up for a whole new challenge. A challenge in finding a Spaghetti that would have my husband crawling on the floor for more!
So I searched the internet for hours, for days even; scoping out and analyzing different recipes, different ingredients until I found THE ONE! I stumbled across a blog called," Kitchen Riff" with the promise of a tasty pasta with...wait for it...BACON in it! Yes, you heard read me right. I said," BACON!" Bacon makes everything better!
This pasta sauce was delicious and surpassed it's promise of being tasty! It's a simple enough sauce, but with the flavor of the added bacon and red pepper, it takes this dish to a whole new level! Though, I can't say Josh was crawling across the floor for more, he did go back for seconds and say that he would make this again, but with penne noodles (which are his favorites). I'm looking forward to adding this recipe to my collection, and as far as my more personal challenge for this meal went, I would say I won! There is nothing boring about this spin off of a classic dish!
Pasta with Tomato and Bacon Sauce
1/2 lb bacon sliced into pieces no more than 1/2 inch wide
1 cup onion, peeled and diced
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper
2 tsps dried oregono
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 lb pasta
Grated Parmesan or Roman cheese for garnish
Slice bacon, place in frying pan and cook on medium heat, stirring from time to time until cooked until your desired doneness, about 10-15 minutes.
While the bacon is cooking, dice onion and garlic. Using a dutch oven, pot, or sauce pan with high edges, heat olive oil till hot and add in the onions, garlic, salt, and pepper. Turn heat to medium low and sauté until onion is soft, stirring occasionally .
Add red pepper and oregano and stir into the mixture for about 30 seconds before adding the tomato. Add the bacon into the tomato mixture, and for a more intense bacony flavor, add 1 tablespoon of bacon fat to the sauce.
Simmer the tomato sauce on medium-low heat for 20-40 minutes. About 15 minutes prior to the sauce being ready, cook your pasta according to the directions on the package. When the pasta is done cooking, reserve about 1 cup of hot starchy cooking water to thin out the sauce if needed.
Drain the pasta and add pasta back to the pot. Add sauce to pasta, and if the sauce is to thick, add some of the starchy water to thin it out a bit.
Serve with grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
