Pasta with Bacon, Spinach and Breadcrumbs

This dish was super fast, just like the other ones, and looked really great on the plate with golden breadcrumbs, bright green spinach and little bits of bacon. It damn near looked like a dish of pasta out of a magazine. That is about where my compliments end. I thought this dish was bland, dry and nothing special. Patrick on the other hand loved it, actually he said it was his favorite. In regards to the dryness (no sauce! I'm sorry that is just wrong), he said it was a nice change from the usual pasta dishes that are drowning in sauce and with just a few ingredients you were able to sorta enjoy the flavors a bit more. Whatev.

This is not going on my rotation, BUT if I were to make it again I would quadruple the spinach and use whole wheat noodles instead. The breadcrumbs+bacon+white pasta=carb overload for me and I needed something more.

Pasta With Bacon, Spinach and Breadcrumbs
Makes: 4 to 6 servings
Time: 30 minutes

1/4 pound bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 or 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and slivered
1 cup of homemade breadcrumbs (from the leftover country loaf)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
Salt
Remaining spinach (about 3/4 pound), washed and trimmed
1 pound spaghetti or other pasta
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, or more as needed
Freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, optional

1. Put the bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium heat until it begins to brown and renders fat. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

2. Add the garlic to the bacon fat, and cook, stirring occasionally until just fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the breadcrumbs and red pepper flakes, if using, and continue cooking and stirring until the garlic is lightly crisp and the breadcrumbs are just golden. Remove the garlic and breadcrumbs from the pan and set aside.

3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Cook the spinach until it’s soft, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the spinach from the pan with a slotted spoon or small strainer, drain well, chop and set aside. Using the same pot of boiling water, cook the pasta.

4. While the pasta cooks, add the oil to the skillet and warm over medium-low heat. Add the drained spinach and toss well with the oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. When the spinach is warm add the bacon, garlic and breadcrumbs back to the pan and mix well.

5. When the pasta is done, drain it and add it to the skillet with the spinach, bacon, garlic and breadcrumbs; toss until well combined. If the mixture is dry, drizzle with a bit of olive oil; adjust the seasonings, and serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese if you like.