Forza Italia. This dish is packed with bright flavours and all the colours of the Italian flag. I took todays homemade rocket pesto and combined it with spaghetti and crispy bacon. Its a cracking combo you have to try and share. Bon Appétit! recipe below Spaghetti with crispy bacon & rocket pesto Ingredients Rocket Pesto 150g rocket leaves 35g freshly picked basil 75g pine nuts (lightly toasted) 70g grated Parmesan cheese 2 garlic cloves (peeled & chopped) ¾ cup of extra virgin olive oil 1 x food processor with blade attachment Pasta 500g of dried spaghetti 400g of streaky bacon rashers 7 tablespoons rocket pesto Parmesan cheese & extra virgin olive oil for garnish To make the Pesto Place all the ingredients into the food processor, with half of the olive oil. Turn on the process and blend until finely chopped and all the ingredients are incorporated. When it comes together drizzle in the remaining oil through the feed tube in the processor until you have a smooth pesto consistency. Pour into a container until needed. To make the pasta To a big pot of salted boiling water add the spaghetti and cook until al dente (8-10 minutes) While the pasta is boiling grill the rashers of bacon on a tray under a hot grill until nice and crispy. Drain on paper towels and then cut into small pieces. When the pasta is cooked, take a mug and drip it into the pasta water, fill it up and place to one side. Drain the pasta using a colander, then place the pasta back into the cooking pot with the pesto and toss through. Use the reserved mug of pasta water to thin the pesto sauce, making sure all the pesto coats the pasta creating a nice creamy consistency. Take half the chopped bacon, mix through the pasta and divide pasta between 4 serving bowls. To finish divide the remaining bacon between the four bowls sprinkling it over the top, garnish with grated Parmesan and a nice glug of extra virgin olive oil. Or if you’re like me a few decent twists of the pepper grinder.
Posted on: Thu, 02 Oct 2014 07:27:38 +0000