BLT Pasta

The BLT may just be the best summer sandwich ever created but does it translate to pasta recipe? A BLT offers up a cool and warm crunch, and a melding of flavors — smoke, sweet, and tang — that keeps us coming back for more all summer long. That combo inspired this decadent spaghetti dish, taking advantage of those same tastes and textures in a slightly different package. Our recipe uses bacon bits (along with its drippings), arugula or spinach, and red grape tomatoes to beef up your usual pasta dish. Then, we even put crispy, crumbly breadcrumbs overtop as an ode to the bread that cushions this traditional summer sandwich.

The BLT Transformation: Why It Works So Well in Pasta

Much like a BLT sandwich, pasta dishes usually contain a variety of textural ingredients. You have the soft, sometimes dense noodles that mingle with tender yet crunchy tomatoes, leafy herbs and veggies, some type of protein, as well as just about any other ingredient you can think to add. Then there’s the creamy or oil component as a sauce for pasta that also crosses over into the sandwich realm. Think of an oil dressing for a BLT and compare it to the drizzle of olive oil we add at the end of this recipe.

BLT Pasta

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• Author: Cheryl Alters Jamison
• Yield: Serves 6

Print Recipe

Description

Ditch boring old spaghetti and give this BLT Pasta a try instead!

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Ingredients

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• 12 oz spaghetti or bucatini
• Kosher salt
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for drizzling at the end, if you wish
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 8 slices thick-cut bacon, sliced in 1-inch sections
• 1 cup dried panko or homemade bread crumbs
• 1 cup halved red grape tomatoes or other small red tomatoes
• 1 cup halved yellow or orange cherry or pear tomatoes, such as Sun Gold
• 2 big handfuls of arugula or spinach leaves
• 1 big handful basil leaves

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Instructions

1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. It should remain a little firm when done. Drain the pasta, saving about ½ cup of the cooking water, and pour the pasta into a broad bowl or rimmed platter. Toss the pasta with the cream, oil, and lemon zest.
2. Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a heavy skillet over medium heat until it is brown and crisp. Pour off 2 tbsp of the bacon drippings and reserve them.
3. Stir the tomatoes into the remaining drippings and sauté over medium heat for 1 minute, just to soften them. Add the tomatoes to the pasta and toss together. Add some of the reserved pasta water if the mixture seems dry.
4. Rinse out the skillet, dry it, and add to it the reserved 2 tbsp of bacon drippings. Stir the bread crumbs and toast over medium heat several minutes until golden brown and crisp.
5. Scatter bread crumbs over the pasta. Tuck arugula and basil leaves around the pasta. Drizzle with more oil, if you wish. Serve hot or room temperature.

Story by Cheryl Alters Jamison
Styling by Julia Platt Leonard
Photography by Tira Howard

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