Cherry Tomato and Bacon Pasta

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Tonight I am bringing to y’all a new recipe I am trying out.   I just love heirloom tomatoes.  I prefer them over most other tomatoes.  I find them to have more flavor and a sweeter taste.  So when I found these beautiful heirloom cherry tomatoes I knew that I had to come up with a recipe to use them in.  Guess what?  I did.  After a quick making of some homemade linguine, I was off.

Now just because I love heirloom tomatoes, I couldn’t let them stand alone in this little recipe.  I decided to use bacon as my protein.  Ok, I decided to use bacon because I love bacon.  It’s still a protein though isn’t it?  Plus a couple jalapeno peppers to give it a bit of kick.  Wow, this one was a home run.  The sweetness of the tomatoes against the saltiness of the bacon were just set off by the bit of spice from the jalapenos. 

Now you of course can leave out the jalapenos if you are a bit sensitive to the spiciness.  Also, just try cutting out the seeds and internal membranes of the peppers.  This is usually were most of the extreme heat is found.

I hope y’all enjoy this one.  It was a favorite at our dinner table tonight.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/3pound  bacon – diced into small pieces
• 1 large sweet onion (luckily it’s Vidalia Season so I used one of those) – diced
• 1 1/2 – 2 pints cherry tomatoes – left whole
• 4 cloves garlic – chopped
• 1 green pepper – chopped
• 1 –2 small jalapenos – seeded and minced (optional)
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme – chopped
• 1/2 cup italian parsley – chopped
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup parmigiano-reggiano cheese
• salt and pepper to taste. (be careful with the salt, remember there is already salty bacon in here)
• 1 pound linguine (or whatever pasta you prefer)

1. Bring large pot of heavily salted water to boil for the pasta. (do not throw out water after cooking pasta)

2. Heat the olive oil in a large pan and add the diced bacon.  Cook bacon till done and crispy.

3. Add the diced onion, green pepper, jalapenos, garlic, thyme  and red pepper flakes.  Cook for a few minutes until just becoming tender.

4. Add the tomatoes to the pan and cover.  Let cook covered until the tomatoes begin to burst. (about 10 minutes) If using boxed pasta, add it to boiling water now to cook.  If using fresh pasta, wait about 7 minutes because fresh pasta does not take as long to cook as store bought boxed.

5. Uncover the tomato mixture and add the parsley, linguine, and cheese and toss.  Taste and season with salt and pepper per taste.  You can use a bit of the pasta water to thin the sauce if you find it to thick.