Leftovers Garlic & Bacon Spaghetti

You can make a really great weeknight meal with very few ingredients. What is nice about this kind of dish is that it can be made in about 15-20 minutes and it will appeal to just about everybody. I make mine with bacon as I always find that I buy a pack of bacon and only have need for half of it. On that note, substitute in any meat you have leftover here and it will work just fine.

Gather the Good Stuff

Enough spaghetti for 2-4 people
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup bread crumbs - I used panko here but any will do
6-8 cloves of garlic - sliced
6 strips of bacon - or any other protein you have leftover
3/4 cup - Parmesan cheese - shredded
Salt & Pepper - to taste

Putting it all Together

Heat oven to 200C and spread breadcrumbs out onto pan for toasting
Dice bacon into small portions - ditto if you are using another protein
Add to a cold pan and turn heat to medium. Cook until bacon releases it's fat and is golden and crispy
Meanwhile put your breadcrumb pan into the hot oven and toast until golden - 3-5 minutes
Remove bacon from pan and set aside in a paper towel lined bowl. Pour off bacon grease from the pan but do not wash
Allow pan to cool - this is important
Salt a pot of water and put it on to boil. Once boiling, add spaghetti
To your now cooled pan, add 1/2 cup oilve oil and sliced garlic
Raise heat to low and allow garlic to toast in the oil. Do not rush the garlic, you want it to cook for about 10 minutes in the low heat and just toast in the oil
Meanwhile remove spaghetti when cooked al dente. Reserve a small amount of the cooking water and strain the rest. Transfer to serving dish
After 10 minutes or so the garlic should be golden brown. To stop the cooking process spoon in 2-3 tablespoons of the pasta water
First, add oil and garlic mixture to your pasta, toss well. Next add breadcrumbs, cheese, bacon and salt and pepper and toss again. Finally top with a little more cheese and serve.

Comments

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