Pasta And Blt Bake Recipes

BLT PASTA

Steps:

• In 4-quart Dutch oven, heat chicken broth, pasta and black pepper to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to medium; simmer uncovered 11 to 14 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pasta is al dente and most of liquid is absorbed.
• Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in butter until melted. Gradually add spinach, stirring constantly, until starting to wilt. Remove from heat; stir in tomatoes and bacon. Top with remaining ingredients.

CHEF JOHN'S BLT PASTA

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.

BLT PASTA CARBONARA

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add bacon; cook, stirring occasionally until crisp and fat has rendered, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove bacon using a slotted spoon and set aside. Pour bacon fat into a small bowl and set aside, but do not wash the skillet.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.
• Mix Parmesan cheese, eggs, egg yolk, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper together in a bowl.
• Cook elbow macaroni in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain into a colander set over a large, heatproof bowl. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water and pour the rest out, keeping the now-heated bowl in place.
• Return 1 teaspoon reserved bacon fat to the large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Cook 30 seconds more and add tomatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through but not falling apart, about 5 minutes. Stir in spinach.
• Add cooked bacon, cooked tomato mixture, and cooked pasta to the heated bowl. Whisk 1/2 cup of the reserved cooking water into the egg mixture. Pour this over the pasta mixture in the bowl and toss for 3 minutes. Thin sauce if necessary by adding additional reserved cooking water. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately with additional Parmesan cheese.

BLT PASTA BAKE: BACON, LEEKS, AND TOMATOES

Steps:

• Place a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. When the water reaches a boil, add some salt and the pasta, and cook until al dente.
• While the pasta cooks, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil and chopped bacon and cook until crisp.
• While bacon is cooking, split the trimmed leeks in half lengthwise, lay the leeks cut side down and thinly slice into half-moons. Fill a large bowl with water and mix the leeks into the water.
• Allow the water to settle and the dirt and the grit to settle to the bottle of the bowl. Using your hands, draw the leeks from the water, taking care not to unsettle the dirt.
• Drain the cleaned leeks on a kitchen towel, pat dry and, and then add to the pan with the bacon. Season the leeks with salt and pepper. Cook until leeks are tender, about 3 to 4 minutes.
• To start the cheese sauce, heat a medium sauce pot over medium heat. Add the butter and melt, then add the flour, cayenne, and paprika and whisk together over the heat until the roux bubbles; cook for 1 minute more.
• Whisk in the milk and stock and raise the heat a little. Bring the sauce to a quick boil and simmer to thicken, about 5 minutes.
• Remove the sauce from the heat and whisk in 3 cups of the grated cheese and the mustard. Set aside.
• Add the cherry tomatoes to the leeks and continue to cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and reserve.
• Preheat the broiler.
• Drain the pasta and add it back to the pasta pot. Combine the reserved leek mixture and the cheese sauce with the pasta. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Transfer the pasta to a baking dish. Combine the remaining ½ cup of grated cheese with the bread crumbs.
• Top the pasta with the mixture. Place the dish under the broiler until the cheese melts and the bread crumbs are brown.

PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bring a pot of water to a boil and salt liberally.
• Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat and add the oil. Once the oil is hot, add the garlic and onions and saute, stirring, for 3 minutes.
• Meanwhile, drop the pasta in the boiling water and cook 3 to 4 minutes less than the package instructions.
• Add the crushed tomatoes to the saucepan and bring to a simmer. When simmering, stir in any add-ins if desired.
• Drain the pasta and mix it into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a baking dish and top with the provolone or mozzarella. Bake until the cheese is melted, 3 to 5 minutes.

BLT PASTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of well-salted water (2 heaping tablespoons kosher salt to about 7 quarts water) to a boil. Add pasta and cook until it is just under al dente, 1 minute less than package directions. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water, and drain the pasta.
• Meanwhile, make the sauce: Place the bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-low heat until crisp, stirring occasionally to make sure it does not burn, about 8 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside on a plate lined with paper towels. Turn heat to medium and add the tomatoes to the skillet, tossing them to coat in the bacon fat. Season with salt and pepper. As the moisture from the tomatoes releases, scrape any browned bits that have accumulated at the bottom of the pan (add a few tablespoons of the pasta water if you need to) and continue to cook until the tomatoes begin to fall apart, about 5 to 7 minutes more. Add half the cooked bacon back to the skillet and toss to combine.
• Increase the heat to medium-high and add the pasta directly to the skillet tossing to coat with the sauce. Add the arugula and 1/4 cup of the pasta water and carefully toss (you'll have a very full pan) until the arugula wilts. Add the cheese and an additional 1/4 cup pasta water and toss together until the cheese emulsifies and the pasta is glossy with sauce. If needed, add another 1/4 cup pasta water to loosen the sauce.
• Serve in bowls and top with remaining bacon. Pass the grated Pecorino Romano at the table and season with flaky salt, if desired.