Gouda-Topped Pasta tossed with Bacon, Asparagus, and Tomatoes

                 So this is a recipe that was so unbelievably good that I had to put some others things on hold to blog about in order to bring it to you asap!  Honestly, this wasn’t even going to be a “blogged about” dish , since I was planning on just sautéing some onions, garlic, adding asparagus and chunky tomatoes, tossing with pasta and parmesan, then serving.  Nothing fancy, just a quick and tasty mid-week dinner. But then I saw the bacon and thought, “HHmmm, why not?”  Everything is better with bacon, right? So I began to cook with that motto in mind and carried on with the rest of my original plan…..That was improvement part 1 of this dish; improvement part 2 came at the very end. ..

                I had just mixed the pasta with the veggie/bacon mixture and thought how great it would be if I had some goat cheese to stir in to heartened it up a bit. Then I remembered the shredded Gouda I had bought recently! I tried to picture the dish topped with Gouda-it looked good in my head, then I thought about all the flavors going on with an addition of Gouda,-it seemed alright, and then I ran my idea past Hubby-he quickly contemplated it and replied, “Yes, please add  the cheese!”  So there it was, a simple pasta dish turned amazing with some help from bacon and cheese!  HHmm, how woulda thought?!? ;)

Gouda- Topped Pasta tossed with Asparagus, Bacon, & Gouda

Serves: 2-4

OBJ: TCW be able to use a few slices of bacon to flavor an otherwise simple dish

Ingredients:

½ LB Campanelle pasta, or any other short variation

3 garlic cloves, minced

½ TBS unsalted butter

1 TBS extra virgin olive oil

3 slices of bacon, cut into small cubes

¼ of a small onion, diced

½ C dry white wine (I use Pinot Grigio, but use what you booze!)

½ of a 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 buddle asparagus, stems removed and diced into ½ inch pieces

¼ C shredded Gouda cheese

S & P: salt and pepper

Procedures:

1. Boil water and make pasta according to box directions

2. Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan, heat bacon over medium heat. Let brown and get crispy around edges, about 5-8 minutes, stirring frequently

3. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon and most of grease to a paper towel-lined dish. (Allow for some grease to stay on pan as this is mega-flavor!)

4. Place pan back over medium heat and add butter, oil, garlic, and onions. Sprinkle with a pinch S & P and stir frequently, 5-8 minutes.

5. Once onions and garlic are softened, add the wine and up the flame to high, bring to boil. While boiling, scrape the bottom of pan to get up the bacon grease. Let wine reduce, about 3 minutes

6. Lower heat to medium-low, add tomatoes, ¼ C reserved pasta water, bacon, asparagus, another pinch S & P, and stir well. Cover for ten minutes ( FYI-This is when I would add my pasta to boiling water)

7. Uncover lid, stir again, add pasta and mix to incorporate. Then, top with Gouda and cover pan, up the heat to high for 1 minute, turn flame off, bring to table and toss before serving!



I tried so hard to get a picture of the cheesy effect, this was the best I could do.......