Bacon With Bitter Greens And Pasta Recipes

Steps:

• Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until it's just al dente. (It should still have quite a bite to it; you'll finish cooking it in the skillet.) Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta water.
• Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until it has rendered all its fat and the pieces are crispy, 5 to 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate or bowl, leaving the fat behind in the skillet; set bacon aside.
• Return the skillet with the bacon fat to medium-high heat. Crack the eggs into the skillet and season with salt and pepper. Fry the eggs, using a spoon to encourage the bacon fat to come up around the whites and cause them to puff slightly. Cook the eggs until the whites are just set and crisped around the edges and the yolk is still bright yellow and runny, about 3 minutes.
• Using a spatula, transfer eggs to another paper towel-lined plate, leaving the bacon fat behind; set eggs aside.
• Return the skillet with the bacon fat to medium heat and add the garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until it's softened and lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add kale by the handful, letting it wilt between additions, and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the kale is totally wilted and softened, about 4 minutes.
• Add pasta and 1/2 cup pasta water to the skillet, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom. Season with salt and plenty of fresh ground pepper. Continue to cook at medium heat, tossing the pasta occasionally, until the sauce has thickened and reduced by about half, about 2 minutes.
• Add remaining 1/2 cup pasta water and continue to cook, tossing to encourage the starches to release, until you've got a thick, glossy sauce, about 2 to 3 minutes. (The pasta should also be completely tender at this point.) Add 1/4 cup grated cheese and more freshly ground pepper; toss to coat.
• Divide pasta among bowls and crumble crispy bacon over. Top with additional cheese and a fried egg. Make sure to break the yolk before eating.

Steps:

• Cook the bacon in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer the bacon with a slotted spoon to a paper-towel-lined plate.
• Add the oil to the fat in the skillet and increase the heat to medium-high. Stir in the garlic and cook until very fragrant and golden, about 1 minute. Stir in the collards, 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook, turning with tongs, until the collards are tender and bright green, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the pasta cooking water, and then drain the pasta.
• Toss the spaghetti with the collards and some of the reserved pasta cooking water. Toss in the cheese and season with salt and pepper. Crumble the reserved bacon over the spaghetti and serve sprinkled with the red pepper flakes.

Steps:

• Take the bacon out of its packaging with the slices still stuck together and place on a cutting board. Cut the bacon, still stacked, crosswise into ½-inch slices to create little bacon pieces, also known as lardons. Add to a large rimmed sheet pan. Halve and thinly slice the onions. Add to the sheet pan as well. Drizzle the olive oil over the bacon and onions, season with salt and pepper, and toss until evenly coated.
• Place the sheet pan in a cold oven and then heat the oven to 450 degrees. Roast until the bacon has rendered much of its fat but is still pink and the onions are slightly charred in spots but not too dark, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Smash the garlic cloves with the side of your knife and thinly slice them. When the bacon and onions have had their 20 to 25 minutes, remove the sheet pan from the oven and stir in the garlic, red-pepper flakes, herbes de Provence and vermouth. Place the pan back in the oven and continue cooking until the vermouth is almost evaporated, and the bacon and onions look jammy and caramelized but not burnt, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Cook the pasta according to package instructions. (Don't overcook it, as angel hair can go from bouncy to soggy in seconds). Reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot.
• Carefully transfer everything from the pan to the pot with the cooked pasta. Add the parsley and Parmesan to the pasta, and toss until evenly combined, adding some of the reserved cooking liquid if the sauce needs thinning out. Taste, adding more salt and pepper as needed, and serve immediately.

Steps:

• Heat oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and sugar and cook, stirring once or twice, until well browned, about 10 minutes. Turn heat to low; continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until very soft, about 10 minutes.
• Remove half the onions and set aside. Add broth or water to the pan and bring to a boil. Cook over high heat, scraping bottom of pan, for 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Cook pasta in boiling salted water until a little underdone, and drain. Add to broth; simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Add greens; cook, covered, until wilted, about 1 minute. Stir in additional tablespoon of butter, if desired. Divide among 4 shallow bowls, garnish with reserved onions, and serve.

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a deep skillet, pot, or Dutch oven with a lid. Add the onion and cook for 10-20 minutes over medium heat, stirring periodically. While the onions are cooking, start the pasta water on high heat in a separate large pot.
• When the onions are soft, add the chopped greens to the skillet, lightly salt, and stir until the greens start wilting. Cover and cook 10-15 minutes over medium-low heat. You can cook it for longer if the pasta still isn't ready, over a lower flame.
• Meanwhile, when the water in the pot starts boiling, add the pasta and cook until firm to the bite (it will cook further in the sauce so be careful not to overcook at this point). When it is almost done, add the crumbled feta to the sauce, keeping the heat on low.
• When the pasta is ready, scoop it up with a slotted spoon or strainer, holding it over the pot of water to drain, and then add the drained noodles in batches to the sauce in the skillet, mixing thoroughly.
• Cook the finished pasta on low heat for a few minutes. Then add a grating of Parmesan, if you like, and a few twists of freshly ground black pepper. Serve immediately; the author recommends serving on plates pre-warmed in the oven.

Steps:

• Olive oil + bacon + onions (NOTHING ELSE) in pan until they're brown, then add 2 cups of H2O and the garlic (it burns easily, so you don't want to risk it with the bacon/onions). Bring to a fast simmer. Add about a cup of SMALL dried pasta, something like ditalini, orchetti, little bow ties, anything in that vein. Stir occasionally as the pasta cooks and absorbs the liquid. When the water's mostly absorbed and the pasta almost done add the GREENS. Hit this with about 1/2 teaspoon of salt, stir to incorporate, and then put the lid on this. Also if you can handle heat, I highly recommend some red pepper flakes here - CHOICE Wait 3 minutes, open lid and check if the rawness has cooked off the greens (should be dark green, glossy from olive oil), pasta is done. If not yet, give it another minute or two, but you should be close. Once greens ready and pasta done, dump out, feast.