Penne with Veggies & Bacon

This is a penne to boast about – boast, of course, meaning Bacon, Onion, Asparagus, Spinach and Tomato. This pasta dish is more than just a hodgepodge of ingredients. It’s a great way to eat your veggies, and the bacon gives it the perfect salty kick.

1/2 a pound of penne pasta
4 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/2 a white onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 bag of baby leaf spinach (a few good handfuls)
1 large fresh tomato, diced
1/3 cup (or more if you like) grated Parmesan cheese
salt & pepper to taste

In a large frying pan, cook the bacon, and set aside to crumble when it cools. Then get your water going for the penne.

While the penne is boiling away, sauté the asparagus in the bacon grease, for about 3 minutes over medium high heat.

Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 3 minutes more or until just starting to brown.

Next add the spinach and stir until it wilts.

Lastly, add the crumbled bacon and fresh tomato and combine. Season with salt & pepper.

When the pasta is a nice al dente, drain, then pour immediately into the frying pan with all the veggies.

Add the Parmesan and stir everything together. Serve right away with some garlic bread and your favorite dry white wine.

Cultural Tidbit:
Today we went to Bampaku Park, which was built to commemorate the 1970 World Expo in Japan. We rode the world’s largest monorail to get there and see the ume (plum) blossoms, which are in season right now. I wish I could capture the smell of walking through the plum orchard in these pictures!