More pasta...

Before I got the miracle shots of cortisone I made pasta again! The nice thing about this recipe is that once tomatoes start coming in this is a great quick easy meal to make out of your pantry. All you need is pasta, tomatoes, bacon and spinach. Well maybe not fresh spinach in your pantry but frozen spinach would probably work too.
Anyway this is delicious and definitely family friendly. Normally I would separate the bacon out for Abigail but she is eating some meat now. It is easy to do this if you have a vegetarian in the family.

I found this recipe in a magazine sent to me, Cuisine. Here's their website: http://www.cuisineathome.com/

B-L-T pasta my way

1 garlic clove, pressed
1 cup rustic whole wheat bread, cubed
1 teaspoon olive oil
kosher salt

4 pieces of bacon
2 1/2 cups ripe tomatoes, diced
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup thinly sliced scallions
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
12 ounces spaghetti
5 ounces fresh spinach, washed and stems removed

Process garlic and cubed bread in food processor until coarse crumbs. Heat olive oil in small pan over medium heat and toast crumbs until brown and crisp, about 4 minutes. Season with salt.

Cook bacon until crisp In large non-stick skillet. Drain on paper towels. Chop when cooled.

Pour off most of the bacon fat out of the pan. Add tomatoes and sugar and caramelize over medium heat. Cook about 5 minutes until tomatoes begin to brown. Add scallions and cook until softened, 2-3 minutes.

Deglaze pan with white wine. Simmer until wine is almost all evaporated. Add the chicken broth, vinegar, pepper flakes and thyme, reduce liquid by 1/3 by simmering approximately 5 minutes.

Cook pasta in boiling water per instructions on package. Add spinach and bacon to sauce. Stir spinach to wilt slightly. Add cooked pasta to pan using tongs. Toss together. Add some of the pasta water a little at a time if necessary. Season with kosher salt. If serving in large bowl turn out pasta into serving dish and sprinkle with bead crumbs. Otherwise serve pasta in individual bowls and top with bread crumbs. Dinner in a bowl-Enjoy!


Substitutions:
French or sourdough bread for the rustic whole wheat
leeks for the scallions
bucatini or another shape pasta for the spaghetti